“Supreme Court brings proceedings to town”: Yesterday’s edition of The Prescott (Ariz.) Daily Courier contained an article that begins, “The wheels of justice rolled through the Glassford Hill Middle School auditorium this week. Students from throughout Yavapai County watched the five justices of the Arizona Supreme Court hear oral arguments for one civil case and one criminal case on Thursday morning.”

“High Court to hear Post appeal; Fighting for right to protect sources”: Yesterday’s edition of The National Post contained an article that begins, “The balancing of state powers in a police investigation against the right of a reporter to protect the identity of a confidential source is going to be weighed for the first time by the Supreme Court of Canada. The High Court agreed yesterday to hear an appeal filed by the National Post in what is expected to be a landmark case in the area of such confidential sources as government whistle-blowers.”

The Toronto Globe and Mail reported on Friday that “Supreme Court to hear test case on media freedom; Confidentiality of sources at issue.”

And The Canadian Press reports that “SCOC to hear case of media’s right to confidential sources.”

“Pre-emption Looms Large in Supreme Court’s Upcoming Business Cases; Four environmental cases are also on docket, plus key job bias issues”: Marcia Coyle of The National Law Journal provides this report.

“Court again blocks Phila.’s try for gun-control law”: This article appears today in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The Philadelphia Daily News reports today that “Council loses gun law skirmish in state court.”

And Reuters provides a report headlined “Philadelphia cannot set its own gun laws: court.”

You can access yesterday’s ruling of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania at this link.

“FDA label doesn’t quash drug suit, court says”: Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article that begins, “A Californian who is harmed by prescription drugs can sue the manufacturer for failing to warn of potential dangers, even if the product had a federally approved label, a state appeals court has ruled. Tackling an issue that is now before the U.S. Supreme Court, the appellate judges reinstated a Modesto woman’s suit Thursday against the maker of a generic version of the brand-name drug Reglan, which is used against heartburn caused by acid reflux.”

You can access Thursday’s ruling of the California Court of Appeal for the Fifth Appellate District at this link.

Somewhat relatedly, The Boston Globe today contains an editorial entitled “No haven for dangerous drugs” that begins, “In the past 11 years, drug companies have had to pull 23 unsafe drugs from the market, even though all had won approval from the US Food and Drug Administration. In spite of this shoddy record of oversight, the companies want to be protected from lawsuits by victimized patients or their survivors on the grounds that FDA approval should protect them from liability. A Supreme Court that has proven only too willing to do the bidding of industry could give the companies what they are looking for. If it does, it will be doing just what conservatives often accuse judges of doing — legislating from the bench.”

“Conservative judges fault Scalia opinion on guns”: Mark Sherman of The Associated Press provides this report.

The two examples of written criticism that are the subject of the article can be accessed here and here.

“In Defense of Judicial Activism: D.C. v. Heller and the failures of conservative judicial restraint.” Damon W. Root has this essay online at Reason.

“The Downsides of Diversity: What Clarence Thomas might have to say about Sarah Palin.” Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

“Tom Goldstein previews Supreme Court docket”: This article appears in the current issue of The Harvard Law Record.

“O.C. Register accused of writing misleading stories to influence lawsuit; The paper is appealing court order preventing it from reporting witness testimony in case on carriers”: The Orange County Register provides this news update.

And The Associated Press reports that “Judge bars SoCal paper from covering its own trial.”

“Court says newspaper able to protect source”: The Times-Tribune of Scranton, Pennsylvania today contains an article that begins, “The Times-Tribune cannot be forced to disclose the identity of a confidential source for stories about a statewide grand jury investigation of the Lackawanna County Prison, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a reaffirmation of the state’s Shield Law.”

And today in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Emilie Lounsberry reports that “Pa. high court upholds reporters’ ‘shield law.’”

Wednesday’s ruling of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania consists of a majority opinion and a dissenting opinion.

“Justice Alito Changes Mind, Gets Out of the Pool”: Tony Mauro has this post at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”

“Philip P. Simon, of Indiana, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Seventh Circuit, vice Kenneth F. Ripple, retired”: The White House announced this nomination today.

In early news coverage, The Indianapolis Star provides a news update headlined “Indiana judge nominated for appeals court.”

“State Court Says City Can’t Enact Local Gun Laws”: The Philadelphia Daily News provides an update that begins, “The state Commonwealth Court today struck down one City Council effort to enact local gun laws.”

You can access today’s ruling of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania at this link.

“The Case of the Gonzales Notes: The Justice Department is investigating whether former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales created a set of fictitious notes so that President Bush would have a rationale for reauthorizing his warrantless eavesdropping program.” Murray Waas has this article online today at the web site of The Atlantic magazine.

“County abortion regulations scrutinized in Indiana; Rules present new obstacle for providers”: This front page article appears today in USA Today.

And elsewhere, The San Diego Union-Tribune reports today that “Third abortion initiative given chance of passing.”

“Nacchio still in jeopardy; Experts say it’s likely that the ex-Qwest CEO’s conviction will be affirmed”: The Denver Post contains this article today.

The Rocky Mountain News reports today that “Experts expect Nacchio guilty verdict to stand; Judges more hostile to ex-Qwest CEO’s attorney.” In addition, Scott Robinson has an essay entitled “Nacchio appeal likely to be decided by filings, not oral argument.”

And The New York Times reports that “Court Considers New Trial for Former Chief of Qwest.”

“Ministers to Defy I.R.S. by Endorsing Candidates”: This article appears today in The New York Times.

And The Christian Science Monitor today contains an article headlined “Pulpit politics: Pastors to defy IRS; Some plan to endorse a candidate Sunday, challenging federal rules that limit partisan activity by tax-exempt groups.”

“State high court to hear red-light fines case”: Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle.

“A Second Justice Opts Out of a Longtime Custom: The ‘Cert. Pool.'” Today in The New York Times, Adam Liptak has an article that begins, “Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. is getting out of the pool.”

“SJC upholds son’s murder conviction”: The Boston Globe today contains an article that begins, “The Supreme Judicial Court yesterday upheld the first-degree murder conviction of George J. Nardi for killing his mother, Dianne Barchard, whose decomposed body was found in the apartment they shared in Bridgewater in December 2002. The unanimous court rejected Nardi’s claim that he lost his constitutional right to confront his accusers because the medical examiner who autopsied his mother’s body did not testify at his trial in Plymouth Superior Court.”

And The Enterprise of Brockton, Massachusetts reports that “Conviction upheld for man who killed mom, lived with body for 15 days.”

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

“Mother can pursue lawsuit over harvest of son’s brain; County, medical company sued”: This article appears today in The Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

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

“Pipe bomb defendant admits he took part; Man pleads guilty in courthouse blast”: Today’s edition of The San Diego Union-Tribune contains an article that begins, “One of the three people accused in the detonation of a bomb at the federal courthouse in San Diego earlier this year pleaded guilty yesterday in Federal Court in Imperial County.”

“Ex-Gitmo prosecutor seeks immunity for testimony; A war court prosecutor who had resigned sought a grant of prosecutorial immunity to testify at Guantanamo for a foot soldier accused of terrorism”: Carol Rosenberg has this article today in The Miami Herald.

And in other news, The Associated Press reports that “Gitmo prosecutors seek resentencing for detainee.”

“Nichols trial: ‘It was red with blood’; Witnesses recall scenes of March 11, 2005, courthouse rampage in which sheriff’s deputy was beaten, judge and court reporter shot.” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution contains this article today.

And yesterday’s newspaper contained an article headlined “Deputy: Guard trusted suspect; ‘There were just red flags all over the place,’ former Fulton officer testifies about security breaches, defendant’s behavior in the courtroom.”

“Clarence Thomas visits football team’s practice”: This newsbrief appears today in the University of Georgia’s student newspaper, The Red and Black.

And The Atlanta Journal-Constitution provides a news update headlined “Justice Clarence Thomas visits Georgia practice.”

Grilled Nacchio’s: The latest version of The Denver Post’s news update is headlined “Appellate judges grill Nacchio’s lawyer.”

The article reports that “[b]ased on the judges’ questions, a pair of legal experts who heard the arguments predicted that the court will rule against Nacchio.”

“Ninth Circuit Hosts Law Clerk Orientation”: The Public Information Office of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued this news release today.

“Nacchio case goes to full court; Oral arguments take 40 minutes, decision to come in months ahead”: The Rocky Mountain News provides this update.

And The Denver Post provides a news update headlined “Court hears Nacchio appeal of conviction.”

“Pa. high court says newspaper can protect source”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that a newspaper reporter does not need to reveal the identity of a confidential source used in a story about a grand jury investigation into alleged prison brutality. The 4-1 decision dated Wednesday and released Thursday upholds a lower court ruling that sided with Jennifer Henn and her former employer, the Times-Tribune of Scranton.”

Yesterday’s ruling of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania consists of a majority opinion and a dissenting opinion.

“When Judges Make Foreign Policy”: Law Professor Noah Feldman will have this article in this upcoming Sunday’s issue of The New York Times Magazine.

The article begins, “Every generation gets the Constitution that it deserves. As the central preoccupations of an era make their way into the legal system, the Supreme Court eventually weighs in, and nine lawyers in robes become oracles of our national identity.”

Federal Circuit affirms decision granting judgment as a matter of law in favor of Microsoft after jury awarded $1.5 billion to Lucent Technologies for alleged infringement of patents for compressing digital audio files: You can access today’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit at this link.

In early coverage of today’s ruling, Bloomberg News reports that “Microsoft Doesn’t Have to Pay $1.5 Billion Claim, Court Says.”

And you can access an earlier industry publication report on the jury’s verdict by clicking here.

“W.Va. court accepts appeals in $400m DuPont case”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “West Virginia’s Supreme Court has agreed to a full review of appeals arising from a nearly $400 million judgment against DuPont.”

“Anthrax Suspect E-Mailed Himself About Solving the Case”: This article appears today in The Washington Post.

The New York Times reports today that “Anthrax-Case Affidavits Add to Bizarre Portrait.”

And USA Today reports that “FBI investigation did not analyze anthrax from biodefense lab; Samples taken after Bruce Ivins covered 2001 contamination.”

“Court says Ivory Coast farmworkers in pesticide suit can’t allege genocide; A federal appellate panel rules in a suit that claims nearly 700 people were made sterile by exposure to DBCP; The plaintiffs are Shell Oil, Dow Chemical, Dole and O.C.-based Amvac Chemical”: Carol J. Williams has this article today in The Los Angeles Times.

And today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko reports that “Ivory Coast workers can’t sue firms in U.S.”

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