A kinder, gentler method of imposing the death sentence: The Birmingham News reports today that “State’s new execution procedure detailed; New method aims to ensure inmate is unconscious.”

The Associated Press reports that “Cancer may claim serial killer before execution in Alabama.”

And The Huntsville Times today contains an editorial entitled “Facing legal realities.”

“Detectives testify about ‘to-do’ list, suspect identification”: The Reno Gazette-Journal today contains an article that begins, “Family Court Judge Chuck Weller was laying in a trauma room with an oxygen mask on his face and blood on his chest when a Reno police detective leaned down and asked if he knew who might have shot him, the officer testified Thursday.”

“Judge Sees No Reason For New Skakel Trial”: Lynne Tuohy has this article today in The Hartford Courant.

The Stamford Advocate today contains an article headlined “No new trial for Skakel.”

And The New York Times reports that “Skakel Loses in Effort to Gain a New Trial.”

“Funeral protest case opens; Member of anti-gay church denies father of soldier could see rally”: The Baltimore Sun on Wednesday contained an article that begins, “A member of a Kansas-based anti-gay church told a federal jury yesterday that America’s acceptance of homosexuality spurred her and fellow parishioners to picket a Westminster Marine’s funeral, one of the demonstrations by the group that have become so frequent that 22 states have enacted or proposed laws limiting the rights of protesters at memorial services.”

And The New York Times reports today that “Marine’s Father Sues Church for Cheering Son’s Death.”

“Princeton Faces Trial Over Use of Gift Now Worth $880 Million”: The New York Times today contains an article that begins, “In a legal battle watched nervously by universities around the country, a New Jersey judge yesterday sent to trial a dispute between Princeton University and the heirs of a supermarket fortune and left open the possibility that Princeton could lose a donation that is now worth $880 million. In a set of rulings, the judge, Neil H. Shuster of Superior Court, established the ground rules for one of the largest lawsuits ever filed exploring how closely colleges must adhere to the original intent of donors.”

The Newark Star-Ledger reports today that “Trial nears on family’s Princeton donation; Suit alarms nonprofits.”

And The New York Sun reports that “Battle Over Use of Donor Gift Could Cost Princeton $1.5 Billion.”

“Trials & Tribulations: A quick glimpse at court decision.” The Times Herald-Record of Middletown, New York today contains an article that begins, “A local lawyer and blogger Steve Bergstein played a major role in revealing information that someone wanted to keep secret, although they can’t say why.”

“The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s En Banc Rehearing in the Navajo Nation Case: Striking the Difficult Balance Between Religious Liberty and Law.” Vikram David Amar has this essay today at FindLaw.

“Sullivan Settles With Former Associate Who Sued Firm for Discrimination”: law.com provides a report that begins, “Sullivan & Cromwell said Thursday it had reached a settlement with former associate Aaron Charney, who sued the New York law firm earlier this year for sexual orientation discrimination.”

“Embattled judge moved to Houston”: The Galveston County Daily News provides an update that begins, “U.S. District Judge Samuel B. Kent, reprimanded last month by a judicial panel after a court employee accused him of sexual harassment, has been transferred from Galveston to Houston.”

And Harvey Rice of The Houston Chronicle has a news update headlined “Order leaves Galveston without federal judge.”

“Insanity defense begins; Mack attorney says divorce, stress, drug abuse sparked slaying”: The Las Vegas Review-Journal today contains an article that begins, “Wealthy Reno pawnshop owner Darren Mack abused illegal drugs to intensify his sexual encounters, but the drugs eventually made Mack so delusional that he shot the judge presiding over his divorce — after first killing his estranged wife in self-defense, defense attorneys said Wednesday.”

And The Reno Gazette-Journal today contains articles headlined “Opening words paint contrasting motives” and “The Jury: Who made the cut?” The newspaper also provides an update headlined “Mack trial testimony focuses on judge.”

“Judges impose secrecy on remake of ethics rules”: Marisa Taylor of McClatchy Newspapers has an article that begins, “As the federal judiciary embarks on a historic revision of its rules against judicial misconduct, the panel of judges that’s overseeing the drafting of new regulations refuses to disclose the public comments that could help shape the overhaul. After requesting public comments about the proposed rules, the Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability refuses to say how many responses it received, who commented or what was said.”

“We decide principally whether a 19th-Century shotgun hanging on a defendant’s living room wall qualifies as an ‘antique firearm’ not subject to the general registration requirement of the National Firearms Act”: So begins the opinion that the majority on a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued today.

Based on the rule of lenity, the majority’s decision in favor of the defendant-appellant on that issue in this federal criminal case saves him a whopping $100 but leaves his criminal sentence otherwise unchanged.

Eleventh Circuit grants rehearing en banc in Alabama death row inmate’s lethal injection challenge: Today’s order granting rehearing en banc vacates the three-judge panel’s stay of execution entered yesterday but then in the very next sentence grants a new stay of execution on behalf of the en banc court. (Take that, three-judge panel!) Fortunately for the inmate, the State of Alabama did not execute the inmate after reading that the three-judge panel’s stay had been vacated but before reading that the stay had been reimposed by the en banc court.

Earlier today, I collected at this link news coverage of yesterday’s three-judge panel ruling.

“Ryan loses appeal”: The Chicago Tribune provides a news update that begins, “Former Gov. George Ryan may soon be reporting to federal prison after an appellate court refused today to reconsider an August ruling that affirmed his sweeping convictions for public corruption and fraud.”

And The Chicago Sun-Times provides a news update headlined “Ex-Gov. Ryan loses appeal.”

“Court Denies Ex-Gov. Ryan a New Hearing”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “A federal appeals court refused Thursday to grant former Gov. George Ryan a fresh hearing on his racketeering and fraud conviction.” You can access today’s order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit denying rehearing en banc at this link.

The joint opinion dissenting from the denial of rehearing en banc, in which three judges joined, concludes: “The role of the courts of appeals in protecting jurors and litigants from excessively protracted criminal trials that strain the capacities of jurors, and by doing so undermine procedural justice, merits plenary consideration by this court.”

“Judges hear arguments in DPS security tape case; DPS lawyer says release of tapes would set bad precedent, compromise security”: The Austin American-Statesman today contains an article that begins, “An attorney for the Department of Public Safety told a Court of Appeals panel Wednesday that publicly releasing security camera tapes from public buildings was little different from giving someone the access codes to a building’s security center. DPS has for more than two years been arguing to keep certain security tapes secret, after a public information request by the Texas Observer, a small nonprofit investigative newspaper. The case made its way to the 3rd Court of Appeals after the Texas attorney general’s office and a state district judge ruled that the public’s right to the tapes in this case outweighed security concerns.”

And The Houston Chronicle reports today that “Court hears appeal on Capitol surveillance video.”

“300 lawyers seek change in court policy on death row appeals; Petition asks appeals judges to avoid another ‘unnecessary execution'”: Chuck Lindell has this article today in The Austin American-Statesman.

And The Houston Chronicle reports today that “Texas lawyers call for e-filed execution appeals.”

You can view the petition at this link.

“Following Moratorium Trend, Court Halts Alabama Execution”: This article appears today in The New York Times.

And The Birmingham News reports today that “Dying killer gets stay of execution.”

You can access at this link yesterday’s decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

“Justice Ginsburg and Legislative Independence”: Orin Kerr has this post today at “The Volokh Conspiracy.”

“Southwick approved for 5th Circuit seat; Democrat Feinstein saluted for breaking partisan deadlock”: The Sun Herald of Biloxi, Mississippi contains this article today.

The New York Times reports today that “Senate Backs Disputed Judicial Nomination.”

The Wall Street Journal contains an editorial entitled “One Judge Makes It.”

And The Clarion Ledger contains an editorial entitled “Southwick: Judge judged by region’s history.”

“Mukasey’s take on torture: His evasive testimony hinders what was supposed to be a breezy confirmation process.” This editorial appears today in The Los Angeles Times.

“The $114.69 Speech Police”: Today in The Washington Post, columnist George F. Will has an op-ed that begins, “The speech policeman’s lot is not a happy one, as the University of Montana at Missoula is learning. Herewith a tale about the mess that institution has made by regulating political speech.”

My earlier coverage of the Ninth Circuit ruling that is the subject of Will’s op-ed can be accessed here.

“Second Court Ruling Redacts Information About Interrogation”: This article appears today in The Washington Post.

And ABA Journal has a post titled “Appeals Clerk Explains Why Details of Alleged FBI Coercion Withdrawn from Opinion.”

“Texas Judge Draws Outcry for Allowing an Execution”: The New York Times today contains an article that begins, “The presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is the target of a rising national outcry a month after turning away the last appeal of a death row inmate because the rushed filing was delayed past the court’s 5 p.m. closing time.”

“Laurence Fishburne as Thurgood Marshall”: The New York Times today contains a newsbrief that begins, “Laurence Fishburne is going to Broadway next spring in a production of ‘Thurgood,’ the one-man play by George Stevens Jr. about the former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.”

“Fight over TV indecency is on high court’s doorstep; Case tests FCC’s attempt to limit expletives”: Joan Biskupic has this front page article today in USA Today.

“Lawyers to begin arguing today”: The Reno Gazette-Journal today contains an article that begins, “Opening statements will begin today in the trial of Darren Mack, who is accused of fatally stabbing his estranged wife and shooting a Reno judge about 16 months ago.”

The newspaper also contains an update headlined “Mack: My wife pointed gun at me, I killed her.”

“Mukasey’s confirmation: a vote about torture; The attorney general nominee’s evasive remarks on ‘water-boarding’ should disqualify him from the job.” Law Professor Jonathan Turley has this op-ed today in The Los Angeles Times.

“What the Senate Should Do”: At “Balkinization,” Chris Eisgruber yesterday had a post that begins, “This post is the last of three marking the 20th anniversary of the Senate vote rejecting Robert Bork’s nomination to the Supreme Court (the vote was twenty years ago today: October 23, 1987).”

“Justices to consider gun case Nov. 9”: Lyle Denniston has this post at “SCOTUSblog.”

And at “PrawfsBlawg,” Michael O’Shea has a lengthy but interesting post titled “What Happened in Heller, Chapter I: The Certiorari Briefing.”

“Advocacy Matters Before and Within the Supreme Court: Transforming the Court By Transforming the Bar.” On Monday, Tony Mauro had this article reporting on a new study by Law Professor Richard Lazarus.

Lazarus has posted his paper to SSRN, and you can access it via this link (abstract with link for download).

“Court attempts to hide FBI threats to innocent man’s family”: Josh Wolf has this post today at his “Media Sphere” blog hosted by c|net.

Andrew Sullivan at “The Daily Dish” has a post titled “Bush’s America: The Higazy Case.”

The blog “Corrente” has a post titled “Court Decision Redacted to Obscure FBI Role In Coerced False Confession Is a Non-Story? What’s With That?”

“The Group News Blog” has a post titled “FBI Tortures Innocent Civilians.”

The blog “TFS Magnum” has a post titled “Welcome to the Police State.”

Kevin Drum at “Political Animal’ has a post titled “Higazy revisited.”

And “ACSBlog” provides a post titled “Bloggers Reveal Redacted Second Circuit Opinion Contained Allegations of Coercion That Occurred During an FBI Interrogation Related to 9/11.”

“Southwick confirmation to federal bench clears Senate”: The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Mississippi provides this news update.

Eleventh Circuit overturns a Florida federal district court’s dismissal of a lawsuit stemming from a 2001 collision between two aircraft in Milan, Italy that was the deadliest aviation disaster in Italian history: Circuit Judge Ed Carnes wrote today’s ruling on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel.

“The Interrogation of Abdallah Higazy: So far, press accounts have missed the point.” Clint Hendler has this interesting article, in which I am quoted, online today at Columbia Journalism Review.