“Ginsburg Has Surgery for Pancreatic Cancer”: Adam Liptak of The New York Times has this news update.

And The Washington Post has a news update headlined “Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospitalized for Cancer.”

“Obama Tries to Appease Both Sides of Abortion Debate”: The Washington Post has this news update.

“Justice Ginsburg Undergoes Cancer Surgery”: NPR’s Nina Totenberg has this written report.

“Justice Ginsburg Has Surgery for Pancreatic Cancer”: Tony Mauro has this post at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”

Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers reports that “Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg undergoes cancer surgery.”

And an updated report from The Associated Press is headlined “Ginsburg is hospitalized with pancreatic cancer.”

“Ginsburg is hospitalized with pancreatic cancer”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been hospitalized for surgery for pancreatic cancer.”

“Scalia’s Temper Rises Again”: You can access at this link today’s installment of CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen’s “CourtWatch” column.

Inflatable rat’s rights recognized on appeal: In a unanimous ruling issued today, the Supreme Court of New Jersey has held that a township’s sign ordinance violates the First Amendment right to free speech and is overbroad.

The ordinance had been used to prohibit a union from displaying as part of its labor protest a large inflatable rat as a symbol of labor unrest. As a Google image search reveals, the inflatable rat is quite a popular symbol these days.

Update: In early news coverage of the ruling, The Associated Press reports that “NJ township can’t declare inflatable rat a pest.”

And The Newark Star-Ledger has a news update headlined “Union rat is protected as free speech, N.J. top court rules.”

“Briefs filed on behalf of Massey”: This article appears today in The Charleston (W. Va.) Gazette.

“Defendants win the right to change their minds; Court decides it can be legitimate grounds for withdrawing a guilty plea”: Today’s edition of The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger contains an article that begins, “Changing your mind can be a valid reason for seeking to retract a guilty plea if other facts in the case support the request, the state Supreme Court ruled yesterday.”

And The Daily Journal of Vineland, New Jersey reports today that “High court rules in M’ville man’s favor.”

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

“‘Borking’ Obama court appointees”: Gina Parker Ford has this essay online at the web site of Wilson County (Tex.) News.

“Supreme Court Cheat Sheet: It’s not a blockbuster session like last fall, but five business cases are worth watching.” Daniel Fisher has this article online at Forbes.com.

“‘Heavy Hitters’ Battle in the Nation’s Supreme Court Over Rights to Hawaiian Ceded Lands; Obama Administration Backs the State in Recently Filed Brief”: This article appeared online yesterday at the web site of the Hawaii Reporter.

“N.J. top court will rule on union’s rat tactics”: The Newark Star-Ledger has a news update that begins, “The state Supreme Court today will rule on the future of a 10-foot, pink-eyed inflatable rodent that has joined union picket lines across New Jersey and is now in the middle of a free speech debate. The state’s top court is set to issue a decision on whether a Mercer County town can prohibit a rat used by a labor union to bring attention to its cause.”

Today’s ruling of the Supreme Court of New Jersey should be available via this link once that court posts it online.

“Iowa Supreme Court orders furlough for its employees”: The Des Moines Register contains this article today.

And yesterday in The Altanta Journal-Constitution, Bill Rankin had an article headlined “Judge: Economy straining justice system” that begins, “Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears said Wednesday that the bad economy is straining the state’s court system.”

“Defending an abortion ban would cost millions; Utah would solicit contributions effort before outlawing the controversial procedure”: This article appears today in The Salt Lake Tribune.

“Lawyer drops bid for chief justice post”: The Providence (R.I.) Journal today contains an article that begins, “Patrick T. Conley has withdrawn his candidacy for chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, claiming Governor Carcieri dislikes him so much that he wouldn’t appoint him even if Conley were selected as a finalist by the Judicial Nominating Commission.”

“O’Connor sits in on cases at Tulane; Retired justice does stint on 5th Circuit”: Yesterday’s edition of The Times-Picayune of New Orleans contained an article that begins, “Arguments on three cases pending before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals took place Tuesday at Tulane Law School before a panel of judges that included retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.”

“Chief justice put solutions first; Public servant pushed mediation as a tool for civil disputes”: The Honolulu Star-Bulletin today contains an obituary that begins, “Herman T.F. Lum, a foot soldier in the Democratic revolution here who dedicated his career to public service and became the state’s third chief justice from 1983 to 1993, died last month after a long illness.”

And today’s edition of The Honolulu Advertiser contains an obituary headlined “Former Chief Justice Herman Tsui Fai Lum, 82.”

“Chief justice examines approach of predecessor”: The Arizona Daily Star today contains an article that begins, “William Rehnquist was an unconventional man who directed a monumental shift in how constitutional matters are decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, current Chief Justice John Roberts said during a public lecture on Wednesday. Speaking at the University of Arizona’s law school as part of an annual series honoring Rehnquist, Roberts said the man who once missed a State of the Union address to attend a YMCA watercolor class pushed the court away from policy-driven reasoning.”

And The Associated Press reports that “Head of Supreme Court worries about ‘partisanship.’”

As I noted in this post yesterday, you can view the Chief Justice’s lecture by clicking here (Windows Media Player required).

“Obama’s Prisoner Dilemma: Reject Torture, Defend Torturers”: David Kravets has this post at Wired.com’s “Threat Level” blog.

“Wide support for Al-Marri”: Lyle Denniston has this post at “SCOTUSblog.”

“Bonds used ‘the clear’ in ’03 season, feds say”: Lance Williams and Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle have a news update that begins, “Former Giants slugger Barry Bonds used the BALCO designer steroid ‘the clear’ during the 2003 baseball season and also was taking a female fertility drug that can mask drug use on steroid tests, federal prosecutors say. Also in 2003, Bonds’ trainer, Greg Anderson, was secretly tape-recorded describing the regimen of undetectable banned drugs that baseball’s all-time homerun leader was using, federal prosecutors say.”

Howard Mintz of The San Jose Mercury News has an update headlined “Documents: Bonds tested positive for steroids three times in 2001 and 2002.”

And The New York Times has a news update headlined “Positive Drug Tests in Bonds Case.”

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has posted online the documents unsealed today at this link.

“Supreme Court chief justice praises Rehnquist at UA”: The Associated Press provides this report.

Earlier today, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. delivered the 3rd Rehnquist Center Lecture at the Rehnquist Center at the University of Arizona’s James E. Rogers College of Law. You can view the lecture online, on-demand by clicking here (Windows Media Player required).

“Former Hawaii chief justice dies”: The Honolulu Star-Bulletin provides this news update.

“How President Obama Can Set a Key Example, and Send an Important Message, By Filling the Nation’s Most Protracted Judicial Vacancy”: Carl Tobias has this essay online today at FindLaw.

“Leahy Coy on New ‘Blue Slip’ Policy”: Keith Perine has this post at CQ Politics “Legal Beat” blog.

According to the post, “There are 27 states with at least one Republican senator, and 14 of those states have two GOP senators. If Leahy decides not to observe the blue slip practice as scrupulously as he did for the last two years, there could be a dramatic impact, particularly on appellate courts.”

“Florida Student Asks Scalia a Question — and Gets Scolded”: Tony Mauro has this post today at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”

Some sad news from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit: According to an item on that court’s home page, “Due to snowstorms, Chief Judge Paul Michel was prevented from traveling to Puerto Rico to deliver a scheduled speech to the Association of Corporate Patent Counsel on January 28, 2009.”

In happier news, the court has posted the prepared text of the speech online at this link.

And in other tropics-related news, it appears that accepting a pro bono appointment from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit may, at least on rare occasion, result in a trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands to argue the appeal.

“We hold that it is within a district court’s inherent power to exercise broad discretion in imposing sanctions based on spoliated evidence.” So declares the unanimous en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in a three-page decision issued today.

At issue in the case was whether state or federal law controls a federal court’s imposition of sanctions as relief for spoliated evidence? Today’s ruling holds that federal law controls, thereby overruling some earlier Sixth Circuit decisions.

“US Chief Justice Roberts to speak at UA Wednesday”: This article appeared last Friday in The Arizona Daily Star.

Also last Friday, UA News reported that “U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. will be at the UA for separate events on Feb. 3 and Feb. 4.”

The Chief Justice’s remarks will begin today at 11 a.m. local time in Tucson, Arizona. As noted at this link, today he will be delivering the 3rd Rehnquist Center Lecture. The remarks will be televised live online via this link (Windows Media Player required) beginning at 10:50 a.m. local time and ending at noon local time.

“Google Trades Blame with HLS”: This article appears today in The Harvard Crimson.

“Revealed: Source of racial slur; Investigator used epithet in the Williams slay case.” Today’s edition of The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger contains an article that begins, “A Supreme Court justice revealed yesterday that Bill Hunt, a former captain in the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office, was the investigator who used a racial epithet to describe Jayson Williams during a 2002 investigation of the fatal shooting at the former NBA star’s home. It was the first time Hunt’s name was publicly disclosed.”

“U.S. Supreme Court justice shows confidence, combativeness at West Palm Beach forum”: The South Florida Sun-Sentinel today contains an article that begins, “In a room filled with some of Palm Beach County’s most powerful people, it took a 20-year-old political science student to throw off U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia on Tuesday afternoon.”

And today’s edition of The Palm Beach Post contains an article headlined “Scalia on 2000: ‘Get over it.’”

“The $100,000 punch in the nose”: Today’s edition of The Kennebec Journal contains an article that begins, “Publishing a notice about a lawsuit in the Lincoln County News met the letter of the law, but violated the due process rights of a former Colby College student who now lives in Massachusetts, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled on Tuesday. It means that the case in which a former Colby student won $100,000 in damages from a former classmate will start over again in Lincoln County.”

And The Associated Press reports that “Court casts doubt on legal notices; Maine justices toss $100k verdict.”

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

“The Supreme Court Restores Title VII’s Protection Against Retaliation, but Employees Still Face Gaps in Retaliation Law”: Joanna L. Grossman and Deborah Brake have this essay online at FindLaw.