“Torturing Mukasey: The judge becomes a pawn in the politics of interrogation.” This editorial appears today in The Wall Street Journal.

“Bond Funds With $155 Billion Imperiled If U.S. Court Voids Law”: Greg Stohr and Jeremy R. Cooke of Bloomberg News have an article that begins, “Municipal-bond investors may be owed billions of dollars, and bond funds holding $155 billion rendered obsolete, as the result of a U.S. Supreme Court fight over state tax powers.”

“Why Does the U.S. Sentence Adolescents To Life Without Parole?” Sherry F. Colb has this essay today at FindLaw.

“The Smart Way to Shut Gitmo Down”: Matthew Waxman has this op-ed today in The Washington Post.

“Act on the Shield Law: The Senate majority leader has two good choices.” The Washington Post contains this editorial today.

“On trial in Atlanta: Cost of justice; Georgia’s death penalty cases are on hold as state, judge wrangle over $1.8 million price tag for defending Brian Nichols.” This article will appear Monday in The Christian Science Monitor.

And The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports today that “Judge for Nichols hearing is familiar with spotlight.”

“Now free, Genarlow Wilson plans to attend college”: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution provides this news update.

Today’s print edition of that newspaper contained an article headlined “Jackson warns of crisis in justice; Thousands of black men wrongly punished, the veteran activist says; Genarlow Wilson to address church today.” The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled “Genarlow Wilson is free … but other victims of Georgia’s sweeping sex offender laws are not.” And columnist Jim Wooten has an op-ed entitled “Court ruling is legislating from the bench.”

Mark Sherman of The Associated Press is reporting: He has articles headlined “Black Lawyers Rare at Supreme Court” and “Lawyers’ Group Wants Halt to Executions.”

“Judicial Races Now Rife With Politics; Corporate Funds Help Fuel Change”: Robert Barnes has this front page article today in The Washington Post.

“A killer argument against assisted suicide: In exposing the euthanasia lobby’s disregard for equality before the law, and for free will itself, Neil M Gorsuch has written the most important book yet on the ‘right to die.'” In the October 2007 issue of “the spiked review of books,” Kevin Yuill has this review of Tenth Circuit Judge Neil M. Gorsuch‘s book, “The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia.”

“Justice O’Connor Addresses Oral Argument, Supreme Court”: This article appeared last Wednesday in The Cornell Daily Sun.

And The Ithaca Journal on Wednesday reported that “O’Connor stresses role of oral advocacy.”

“Abortion’s ‘So-What’ Factor”: Today in The Washington Post, columnist George F. Will has an op-ed that begins, “Almost 35 years have passed since the Supreme Court decided to end America’s argument about abortion. Because of the court’s supposedly therapeutic intervention in the nation’s supposedly inadequate democratic debate about that subject, the issue still generates an irritable irrationality that was largely absent before 1973.”

“Thomas’ rulings contrast meager beginnings; The justice has carved out a stern judicial philosophy in which his early struggles are rarely apparent”: David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times.

Last Wednesday in The Chicago Sun-Times, columnist Steve Huntley had an op-ed entitled “Thomas’ life story, philosophy win admirers.”

And last Thursday, High Point University issued a news release titled “Justice Clarence Thomas To Speak At HPU Commencement.”

“Scalia honored by Jesse Helms Center; Conservative Supreme Court justice defends his concept of strict constructionism, claiming Constitution ‘is not a living organism’ but a ‘legal document'”: This article appeared in yesterday’s edition of The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina.

“Bush sets US Supreme Court legacy”: BBC News provides this report.

“President’s power to detain in U.S. at issue”: At “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston has a post that begins, “In Courtroom Two of the federal courthouse in Richmond, Va., on Wednesday morning at 9, ten judges of the Fourth Circuit Court take up a broad new test of the power of the President to detain terrorist suspects inside the borders of the U.S.”

“Torture Stance Raises Doubts on Mukasey”: The Washington Post contains this article today.

And The New York Times today contains an article headlined “Denounce Waterboarding, Democrats Tell Nominee.”

“Appeal to halt execution is denied; U.S. high court ruling on lethal injection may decide Berry’s fate”: This article appears today in The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Mississippi.

My earlier coverage of yesterday’s Fifth Circuit ruling appears at this link.

“Political Sway at Guantanamo? Former Prosecutor Says Pressure Began With Australian’s Case.” Jess Bravin has this article today in The Wall Street Journal.

“Wilson’s Sentence Overturned”: This article, in which I am quoted, appears online at the web site of Time magazine.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution today contains an article headlined “Wilson rejoices: 4-3 decision frees Gemarlow.”

The New York Times reports today that “Georgia Court Frees Man Convicted in Sex Case.”

The Washington Post reports that “Court Orders Release of Man in Teen-Sex Case; Ruling Determines 10-Year Prison Sentence Was Cruel and Unusual Punishment for Consensual Act.”

The Los Angeles Times reports that “After teen sex ruling, he’s a free man; Georgia’s high court overturns Genarlow Wilson’s conviction, saying his sentence was ‘cruel and unusual.’”

And Jonathan Ringel of Fulton County Daily Report has an article headlined “Ga. Justices’ Ruling in Teen Sex Case Confounds Some Predictions; Justice Thompson provided swing vote in releasing Genarlow Wilson, though he dissented in a similar case.”

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

“Judicial confirmation process ‘broken,’ federal appeals judge says”: The Arkansas News Bureau provides a report that begins, “The judicial confirmation process is ‘broken’ and needs an overhaul, a federal appeals court judge whose confirmation process lasted three years said Thursday. Senate confirmation of a president’s judicial nominees should be rigorous but should not be allowed to drag on for years, said Brett Kavanaugh, a member of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Kavanaugh was a guest speaker Thursday at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service.”

And a related news release is titled “D.C. Circuit Judge Brett Kavanaugh speaks at Clinton School.”

This is not the first time that Clinton and Kavanaugh have been mentioned together in the mass media.

“From CIA Jails, Inmates Fade Into Obscurity; Dozens of ‘Ghost Prisoners’ Not Publicly Accounted For”: This front page article appears today in The Washington Post.

Available online from law.com: Tony Mauro reports that “Abortion Ban Back at 4th Circuit; Virginia case tests high court ruling in ‘Gonzales.’”

In other news, “NHL’s Insurers Score Hat Trick in N.J. Supreme Court.”

An article reports that “Court Ruling Spikes Internet Ministers, Highlights Legal Issue; Divorce attorneys claim ruling could be used as a way to avoid alimony, division of property.”

In news from Texas, “The Decision-Making Behind the Wait for the HLF Verdict.”

And the brand new installment of my “On Appeal” column is headlined “Refusing to Accept Defeat as the Result on Appeal.”

Three-judge Fifth Circuit panel denies stay to Mississippi death row inmate who is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection next Tuesday and who seeks to challenge that State’s protocol for lethal injection: You can access today’s ruling at this link.

And since they resided in Alabama, the wife couldn’t lawfully purchase a sex toy to ameliorate her sexless marriage: The Associated Press reports that “Ala. Appeals Court Ends Sexless Marriage.” According to the article, now that they are no longer married, the former husband and wife are planning to have lots of sex. In any event, it’s on occasions like these that one is glad Alabama state appellate court rulings are not readily and freely available over the internet.

In earlier, unrelated coverage, on February 22, 2006, I had a post titled “When will this Bad Marriage end?”

Update: The blog “Alabama Appellate Watch” has posted the opinion at this link.

“Craig to Make Constitutional Argument”: The AP provides a report that begins, “Idaho Sen. Larry Craig will argue before an appeals court that Minnesota’s disorderly conduct law is unconstitutional as it applies to his conviction in a bathroom sex sting, according to a new court filing. This is the first time Craig’s attorneys have raised that issue. However, an earlier friend-of-the-court filing by the American Civil Liberties Union argued that Craig’s foot-tapping and hand gesture under a stall divider at the Minneapolis airport are protected by the First Amendment.”

“Ex-Gov. Ryan Ordered to Prison by Nov. 7”: The Associated Press provides this report.

And The Chicago Tribune provides a news update headlined “Ryan lawyers to seek bond this afternoon.”

“Court Allows Anti-Harass Training Suit”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “A high school student can pursue nominal damages from an eastern Kentucky school district over its required anti-harassment training, an appeals court ruled Friday.”

My earlier coverage of today’s Sixth Circuit ruling appears at this link.

Seventh Circuit dismisses for lack of standing Indiana Right to Life’s federal constitutional challenge to Indiana’s Code of Judicial Conduct, which prohibits candidates for judicial office from pledging or promising how they will rule on cases or issues likely to come before the court: Circuit Judge Terence T. Evans issued this interesting ruling today on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel.

Sixth Circuit reinstates student’s claim alleging that his high school’s now-abandoned policy against making stigmatizing or insulting comments about the sexual orientation of other students unlawfully chilled his ability to express his religiously influenced beliefs about homosexuality: You can access today’s ruling from a divided three-judge Sixth Circuit panel at this link.

Circuit Judge Deborah L. Cook dissents, explaining that “The majority burdens a federal district judge with a full-blown trial to determine whether to award the plaintiff a single dollar if a policy no longer in effect was unconstitutional despite never being enforced against the plaintiff.”

BREAKING NEWS — “Supreme Court frees Genarlow Wilson”: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution provides a news update that begins, “The Georgia Supreme Court on Friday ordered the release of Genarlow Wilson, the Douglas County teenager who has been serving a controversial 10-year sentence for consensual oral sex. The court’s 4-3 decision upholds a Monroe County judge’s ruling that the sentence constituted cruel and unusual punishment under both the Georgia and U.S. constitutions. The majority opinion said the sentence appeared to be ‘grossly disproportionate’ to the teenager’s crime and noted that it was out of step with current law.”

And The Associated Press provides a report headlined “Ga Court: Release Man Jailed in Sex Case.”

You can access today’s ruling of the Supreme Court of Georgia at this link. The court also issued this news release summarizing the decision.

“CIA Paranoia and the Lady from Vermont: 9/11 hysteria, even surrounding 60-year-old documents about American spies.” The Village Voice contains an article that begins, “On October 9, Charlotte Dennett, a prim Vermont woman uneasily holding her handbag, stood up in federal court in Manhattan to try yet again to pry the 60-year-old secrets about her father’s death from the U.S. government.”

Update: A bit later this morning, a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a non-precedential ruling dismissing Dennett’s appeal for having been filed too late.

“Court won’t rehear ex-Gov. Ryan’s appeal; The Illinois Republican is to begin a prison sentence for fraud and corruption; He’ll ask the Supreme Court to hear the case”: This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times.

The Chicago Tribune reports today that “Ryan down to last hope; Ex-governor looks to high court to overturn corruption verdict.”

And The Chicago Sun-Times contains an article headlined “From his house to…the big house? He was sentenced to prison more than 400 days ago. Now ex-Gov. George Ryan could finally report in about two weeks; But even after his appeal was denied Thursday, he might be able to avoid jail again — for a while.”

My earlier coverage of yesterday’s Seventh Circuit order denying rehearing en banc can be accessed here.

“Panel to See Papers on Agency’s Eavesdropping”: Today’s edition of The New York Times contains an article that begins, “The White House on Thursday offered to share secret documents on the National Security Agency’s domestic surveillance program with the Senate Judiciary Committee, a step toward possible compromise on eavesdropping legislation.”

“Panel to probe Nichols’ judge; House speaker forms committee; Delays, soaring expenses anger Richardson”: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution today contains an article that begins, “Angered by trial delays and spiraling costs, Georgia House Speaker Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram) set up a special committee Thursday to investigate whether the judge in the Brian Nichols murder case has abused his office and should be impeached.”

And The Los Angeles Times reports today that “Costly trial puts heat on Georgia judge; The escalating price tag of Brian Nichols’ public defense is causing lawmakers to look at how the capital case is being handled.”