“N.J. out to end death penalty; Gov. Corzine and top legislators see a chance in the lame-duck session; A study and other factors have added momentum”: The Philadelphia Inquirer contains this article today.

“Guantanamo’s newest critic”: This editorial appears today in The Boston Globe.

“Clinton’s years at Yale Law key to her development”: McClatchy Newspapers provide this report.

“A people’s right: Second Amendment speaks to individual freedoms.” The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner today contains an editorial that begins, “As the Supreme Court prepares to take on the key Second Amendment question of the individual right to keep and bear arms, as opposed to bearing arms only as part of an organized state militia, Alaskans may be sorting out their own views on the issue.”

“Foes of electronic spying may have a new way to challenge it”: Yesterday in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko had an article that begins, “Despite their latest court setback, challengers of President Bush’s electronic surveillance program have another arrow in their quiver – a section of the same law that Bush spurned when he first ordered wiretaps six years ago.”

“Who would Giuliani nominate? While Democratic contenders are clear on how they view justices, the GOP’s Giuliani is a bit of a puzzle.” Friday’s edition of The Los Angeles Times contained an editorial that begins, “What kind of justice a presidential candidate would name to the Supreme Court isn’t just a legitimate issue; it’s a vital one.”

“Judge’s refusal to step down after 1935 bribery conviction led to change in state Constitution; Gavin Craig said he was innocent and refused to leave the bench”: The Los Angeles Times today contains an article that begins, “Justice Gavin W. Craig, who sat on the state appellate court about 70 years ago in Los Angeles, made his mark on history not through his judicial opinions but through his own legal woes and a penchant for persistence. When Craig refused to leave the bench after his 1935 felony conviction on bribery charges, opponents launched a drive to remove him and fomented a change in the California Constitution.”

“Monkey Meat at Center of NYC Court Case”: The Associated Press provides this report.

“Chief justice bucks precedent in smoke-shop case”: The Providence (R.I.) Journal today contains an article that begins, “A state Supreme Court directive that the criminal charges stemming from the state police raid on a Narragansett Indian smoke shop be resolved, if possible, through mediation is not only unprecedented, it bucks the high court’s own rules.”

“Court to Consider Investor’s 401(k) Suit”: Pete Yost of The Associated Press provides this report.

“Court may have violated its own policies”: The Galveston County Daily News today contains an article that begins, “Cathy McBroom’s mother and others say that her May complaint against U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent wasn’t the first time she told court officials about the judge’s alleged sexual misconduct. But the court, often charged with judging sexual harassment by others, apparently failed to follow its own internal guidelines for correcting the problem, at least according to several people close to the case.”

“For Thompson, federalism at heart of campaign; Draws mixed responses to the principle”: The Boston Globe contains this article today.

“A Worthy Nominee: Maryland senators threaten to block a qualified candidate from a federal appeals court.” This editorial appears today in The Washington Post.

“Aharon Barak: Israel tops US at protecting human rights.” Sunday’s edition of The Jerusalem Post contains an article that begins, “Former Supreme Court Justice Aharon Barak said on Saturday that thanks to the development and application of judicial tools such as ‘proportionality’ and ‘reasonability’ by the High Court of Justice, Israel has been far more successful in protecting human rights while fighting terrorism than the United States.”

“Former federal judge is striving for balance; He still questions laws as a teacher, advocate”: Geoffrey Fattah had this article yesterday in The Deseret Morning News.

The article begins, “When Utah’s youngest federal judge announced he was stepping down from the bench last September, many in the legal community wondered why someone would leave behind a lifetime appointment by the U.S. president. Paul G. Cassell was 42 when he was appointed to the bench, but 5 1/2 years later the former federal prosecutor and University of Utah law professor announced he would return to teaching and take up a new career in legal advocacy.”

“Legal Warrior: Can the lawyer who won Bush v. Gore win over social conservatives for Rudy Giuliani?” James Taranto has this interview op-ed today in The Wall Street Journal.

“Guns and the Constitution: Is the Second Amendment an individual, or collective, right?” This hot topic essay appears today in The Wall Street Journal.

Greetings from Washington, DC: Where, since early yesterday afternoon, my family and a family with whom we are friends have been seeing the sights. Yesterday, among other things, we made it to the International Spy Museum and the Smithsonian American Art Museum–National Portrait Gallery.

Among the things to do on today’s agenda, giant pandas and the changing of the guard.

“Lawyer’s revelation of confession may ruin him; Staples Hughes’ career is in jeopardy for having disclosed the confession of a client, now dead, that he alone killed a couple”: This interesting article appears today in The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina.

“Chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines visits Guam next week”: Saturday’s edition of The Pacific Daily News of Guam contains this article.

“Whose Right To Bear Arms?” This editorial appears today in The Hartford Courant.

And today’s edition of The Republican of Springfield, Massachusetts contains an editorial entitled “High court can defend rights of an individual.”

“Idea of open government wins in lengthy suit with Penn State”: The Harrisburg Patriot-News today contains this editorial congratulating itself on a lawsuit that the newspaper brought and recently prevailed in before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

My earlier coverage appears here and here.

“S.F. Chamber of Commerce backs same-sex marriage rights”: Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle provides this news update.

“Head for Cover as High Court Aims at Gun Control”: Bloomberg News columnist Ann Woolner today has an essay that begins, “The authors of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution could have used a lesson in clarity, not to mention punctuation.”

“A New Challenge to Ky. Executions Arises”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “A Kentucky death-row prisoner claims that giving a condemned inmate a sedative on the day of execution interferes with the drug cocktail used in lethal injections.”

“Bonds’s Defense Team to Add Some Experience”: The New York Times contains this article today.

And The Associated Press reports that “Bonds’ Former Friends Set to Testify.”

“Sandra Day O’Connor’s loss, and ours; Her spouse’s Alzheimer’s has exacted a toll her, and the country feels it, too”: This editorial appears today in The Los Angeles Times.

“Justice Stevens and the tipping point: How the Supreme Court would look if its strongest liberal voice, now 87, were to exit may well depend on the presidential election.” David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times.

“Cellphone Tracking Powers on Request; Secret Warrants Granted Without Probable Cause”: The Washington Post today contains a front page article that begins, “Federal officials are routinely asking courts to order cellphone companies to furnish real-time tracking data so they can pinpoint the whereabouts of drug traffickers, fugitives and other criminal suspects, according to judges and industry lawyers. In some cases, judges have granted the requests without requiring the government to demonstrate that there is probable cause to believe that a crime is taking place or that the inquiry will yield evidence of a crime. Privacy advocates fear such a practice may expose average Americans to a new level of government scrutiny of their daily lives.”

“Second Amendment Showdown: The Supreme Court has a historic opportunity to affirm the individual right to keep and bear arms.” Mike Cox, Michigan’s attorney general, has this op-ed today in The Wall Street Journal.

“Justice Dept. ‘Helps Iran’ in Court Case”: Today in The New York Sun, Josh Gerstein has an article that begins, “The Justice Department is urging a federal court to go easy on Iran in a legal dispute in which terrorism victims are attempting to seize valuable Iranian antiquities held by American research institutions.”

“The Eleven-Million-Dollar Judgment Against the Westboro Baptist Church For Protesting At a Funeral: Did It Violate the First Amendment?” Vikram David Amar and Alan Brownstein have this essay online today at FindLaw.

“Friends in High Places”: In the current issue of CQ Weekly, columnist Kenneth Jost has an essay that begins, “Equal Justice Under Law is carved in big letters over the Corinthian columns framing the main entrance to the Supreme Court. While the goal has always been more aspirational than actual, a leading expert says the gap between the hope and the reality is widening. The reason: the emergence of an elite corps of Supreme Court advocates, most of them with big corporate law firms in Washington, who appear to be having outsized influence in shaping the court’s docket and its decisions to advance the interests of well-heeled business clients.”

“School Board mulls offer for settlement in Bong Hits case; Attorney Mertz says he expects to file appeal to Ninth Circuit Court”: This article appeared yesterday in The Juneau Empire.

And The Associated Press reports that “‘Bong Hits’ attorney suggests settlement to Juneau board; Rejection by School District would return case to court.”

“Winfree soon to set up shop in courthouse”: The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner today contains an article that begins, “The Alaska Supreme Court now has a Fairbanksan on its bench, but exactly where that bench will reside is still in the works.”