“On Return, Ginsburg Is Quick to Question”: Adam Liptak will have this article Tuesday in The New York Times.

“Liberals Use Supreme Court Gun Case to Bolster Other Rights”: law.com’s Tony Mauro has this report.

Isn’t that “special”? What differentiates a “special concurrence” from an ordinary, run-of-the-mill concurrence? A ruling that a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued today raises that question, as two of the three judges on the panel “specially concurred” in the lead opinion of the third judge.

The author of the first special concurrence states that he joins in the lead opinion in full, making the concurrence perhaps somewhat less special than if it had sought to accomplish something utterly bizarre. And the second of the two special concurrences offers no reasoning whatsoever, suggesting that it is little more than an ordinary (and therefore not particularly special) concurrence in the judgment.

In news coverage of the substance of the ruling, The Associated Press reports that “Amnesty International wins round in speech lawsuit.”

Seventh Circuit again begins allowing U.S. District Judges to sit by designation on that federal appellate court’s three-judge panels: See, for example, this ruling issued today.

If any reliable explanation for this change should reach me, I’ll more than gladly pass it along to the readers of this blog.

“U.S. District Court Judge Pleads Guilty to Obstruction of Justice”: The U.S. Department of Justice issued this news release today.

David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times is reporting: In Tuesday’s newspaper, he will have articles headlined “Supreme Court to hear Mojave cross case
Justices will decide whether the monument can stand in a national park to honor fallen soldiers; It will be the Roberts court’s first chance to rule on separation of church and state”

and

“Supreme Court won’t hear appeal in patronage fraud case; Aides to Chicago Mayor Richard Daley were convicted of ‘honest services fraud’ in awarding city jobs based on political connections; Justice Antonin Scalia dissents, calling the law too vague.”

“Marriage ruling gave gay people legal protection”: Greg Moran has this article today in The San Diego Union-Tribune.

“‘Secret’ deadly for Montana town saturated in asbestos, prosecutors say; Trial begins in the case of W.R. Grace company, accused of knowingly exposing Libby, Mont., residents to asbestos; About 1,200 have sickened or died; The defense says there was no conspiracy”: The Los Angeles Times has this news update.

“Justice Ginsburg Returns to Work; Less Than 3 Weeks After Cancer Surgery, She Is an Active Participant on the Bench”: Robert Barnes will have this article Tuesday in The Washington Post.

And The Louisville Courier-Journal has a news update headlined “Bunning apologizes for Ginsburg comments.”

Programming note: I have a work-related meeting out of the office this afternoon. As a result, additional posts will appear here this evening.

“Judge Kent accepts plea deal and retires from bench; Trial ‘would have been long, embarrassing and difficult for all involved,’ defense attorney says”: Mary Flood of The Houston Chronicle has this news update.

And The Associated Press reports that “Federal judge pleads guilty before start of trial.”

“Court grants religious symbol case, five others”: Lyle Denniston has this post at “SCOTUSblog.”

You can access today’s Order List of the Supreme Court of the United States at this link.

In addition to granting review in six cases, the Court also called for the views of the Solicitor General in two cases.

And Justice Antonin Scalia issued this dissent from the denial of certiorari in a case seeking to challenge the constitutionality of, and clarify the meaning of, “honest services” fraud under the federal mail and wire fraud statutes.

In early news coverage from The Associated Press, “Ginsburg in court after surgery“; “Court will rule in dispute over 8-foot cross“; “Court to rule on death sentence for neo-Nazi“; “Court rejects appeal from convicted Daley aides“; “Court rules against al-Qaida member, a US citizen“; “Court turns down utilities over mercury emissions“; “Court won’t revisit Holocaust insurance settlement“; “Court turns down FTC in Rambus case“; and “Court won’t revive Kentucky teen’s lawsuit.”

“W.R. Grace asbestos trial to open today; Md. firm, former managers charged in Mont. pollution and cover-up”: This article appears today in The Baltimore Sun.

As I noted in this post from last week, The Missoulian is providing extensive local coverage of the trial.

“Supreme Court to tackle judicial conflict of interest; At issue in a West Virginia case is whether big spending on a judge’s election can create an unconstitutional ‘appearance of bias'”: David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times.

“Justice Roberts’s Portfolio: Why stock investments and Supreme Court service don’t mix.” The Washington Post contains this editorial today.

“A ‘Ticking Time Bomb’ Goes Off: When Abdallah Al-Ajmi Returned to Kuwait After Nearly Four Years at Guantanamo, His Family Tried to Get Him to Move On; But He Didn’t Want to Let Go.” This front page article appears today in The Washington Post.

The Kansas City Star reports today that “Future of Gitmo detainees raises many questions.”

And The Los Angeles Times contains an editorial entitled “Free the Uighurs: It’s time to untie the legal knot keeping 17 Chinese Muslim dissidents at Guantanamo.”

“Justice for American Indians”: The New York Times today contains an editorial that begins, “The federal government has a long history of cheating American Indians, and not all of this dirty dealing is in the distant past. On Monday, the Supreme Court hears arguments in a suit by the Navajo, who lost millions of dollars’ worth of coal royalties because the government helped a coal company underpay for their coal. A lower court ruled for the Navajo Nation. The Supreme Court should affirm that well-reasoned decision.”

In the March 2, 2009 issue of The New Yorker: Jeffrey Toobin has a “Comment” headlined “Voter, Beware: The Supreme Court takes on a civil-rights landmark.”

And Lauren Collins has a “Talk of the Town” essay headlined “Gitmo Get-Together: Defense lawyers celebrate the order to close the Guantanamo Bay prison.”

“Jury selection in Kent trial starts today; Federal judge’s sex crimes case being watched nationwide”: Mary Flood has this front page article today in The Houston Chronicle.

And today in The Wall Street Journal, Nathan Koppel reports that “Criminal Trial of U.S. Judge Set to Open.”

“Obama And Terror Law: More Of The Same? Early Decisions By Obama Justice Dept. Seem To Follow Precedent Of Bush’s Terror Policy.” CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen has this new installment of his “CourtWatch” column.

“High Court returns after break; Ginsburg expected”: The Associated Press has this report.