“Let’s give Judge Keller a free lawyer”: Rick Casey has this op-ed today in The Houston Chronicle.

“As New Lawyer, Senator Defended Big Tobacco”: This lengthy article about U.S. Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand (D-NY) appears today in The New York Times.

“Enron’s Skilling resentencing hearing set for July”: The Associated Press has this report.

“Environmental policy a specialty of Obama’s solicitor general”: Greenwire has this article online at the web site of The New York Times.

“‘Survivor’ star Hatch seeks early release from prison”: Katie Mulvaney of The Providence Journal has a blog post that begins, “He bared it all as the ‘Survivor’ show’s first star, and now Richard Hatch wants to get out of jail — immediately.”

And The Associated Press reports that “Survivor winner seeks release from US prison.”

You can access the pro se habeas petition at this link.

“Who’s Policing the Fourth Amendment? Two cases push the unevenly enforced exclusionary rule closer to repeal.” David G. Savage will have this article in the April 2009 issue of the ABA Journal magazine.

“A Busy April for Civil Rights Litigation at the Supreme Court”: Tony Mauro has this post at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”

“Hundreds of Pa. juvenile convictions reversed”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “Pennsylvania’s highest court on Thursday overturned hundreds of juvenile convictions issued by a corrupt judge accused of taking millions of dollars in kickbacks to send kids to privately owned detention centers.”

The Citizens Voice of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania has a news update headlined “Judge orders expungement of juvenile court records.”

And The Philadelphia Inquirer has a news update headlined “Court overturns hundreds of cases in court scandal.”

You can view today’s order of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania at this link. And the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts today issued a news release headlined “Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Approves Expungement of Juvenile Records in Luzerne County.”

“Former Ala. gov., HealthSouth CEO seek full review”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman and former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy are asking the full 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review arguments to overturn their convictions in a government corruption case.”

Eighth Circuit affirms federal district court decision that orders State of Missouri to issue “Choose Life” specialty license plates: You can access today’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit at this link.

In early news coverage, The Associated Press reports that “Appeals court upholds decision requiring Mo. to issue ‘Choose Life’ license plates.”

Police officer who lost sense of smell says this appellate court ruling stinks! The Associated Press has a report headlined “Pa. court OKs removal of officer who can’t smell” that begins, “A Pennsylvania appeals court says a township is allowed to discharge an officer because he lost his sense of smell in an off-duty motorcycle accident.”

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

“Obama Backs Banks, Seeks to Block State Fair-Lending Crackdown”: Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News has a report that begins, “The Obama administration’s call for greater financial regulation may have its limits. The administration late yesterday urged the Supreme Court to bar New York and other states from enforcing their fair-lending and other consumer-protection laws against federally chartered banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co.”

“Arizona’s high court bans school vouchers”: The Arizona Republic today contains an article that begins, “The Arizona Supreme Court on Wednesday declared the state’s school-voucher programs unconstitutional because they violate a ban against appropriating public money for private or religious schools. The unanimous decision shuts the door on vouchers in Arizona unless voters agree to a statewide ballot measure to change the state Constitution.”

And Howard Fischer of The Arizona Daily Star reports today that “AZ vouchers for schools ruled illegal; High-court ruling for public education overturns ’06 programs of Legislature.”

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

“High court unanimous in decisions so far”: Today’s edition of The Charleston (W. Va.) Daily Mail contains an article that begins, “So far this term, the state Supreme Court has delivered unanimous decisions in every one of the 19 appeals it has heard. The five judges have been in agreement on every case since the term began Jan. 13. It seems to be a shift from recent years. Prior to the November election that changed the make-up of the court, many decisions split the justices 3-2.”

“Is the Bonus Tax Unconstitutional? The Supreme Court defers too much to Congress.” Law professor Richard A. Epstein has this op-ed today in The Wall Street Journal.

“Holder Frames Future at Justice With Portraits From the Past”: FOXNews.com has this report.

“Elena Kagan and the GOP’s perilous partisanship: Thirty-one Republican senators voted against her nomination as solicitor general; That could tempt Obama to ignore the minority’s views when it comes to picking a Supreme Court justice.” This editorial appears today in The Los Angeles Times.

“State court leaves room for Lokuta”: Today’s edition of The Citizens Voice of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania contains an article that begins, “Ann H. Lokuta won a huge victory in her fight to regain her seat on the Luzerne County bench Wednesday when the state Supreme Court stopped an election to replace her and opened the door for a possible reargument of her case. The state’s highest court stayed a state Court of Judicial Discipline decision removing Lokuta from the bench. It also ordered the discipline court to determine whether it should reconsider that decision in the light of federal corruption charges lodged against three high-ranking county court officials who testified against Lokuta.” The newspaper also reports today that “Judicial candidates undeterred by ruling.”

And today’s edition of The The Times Leader of Wilkes-Barre contains articles headlined “Ruling: Keep Lokuta seat off ballot; Decision removing judge from office stayed” and “Ruling could keep seat empty until 2012; Although Lokuta not serving, state Supreme Court’s order means her seat is not vacant.”

You can access yesterday’s order of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania at this link. And former Judge Lokuta’s application for a stay can be accessed here.

“Supreme Court to Hear Key Test Case for Age Bias Claims”: Marcia Coyle of The National Law Journal has this report.

“Schwarzenegger back in trouble over prison care”: Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has this news update.

And The Associated Press reports that “Appeals court OKs Schwarzenegger contempt hearing.”

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

“ACLU sues DA in nude photo trading case”: The Times-Tribune of Scranton, Pennsylvania has a news update that begins, “The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against the Wyoming County District Attorney on behalf of three teenage girls who may face felony charges for having semi-nude pictures of themselves traded by classmates using cell phones.” The article provides links to that newspaper’s earlier coverage of these events.

Reuters reports that “Prosecutor sued over semi-nude teen photos case.”

And at Wired.com’s “Threat Level” blog, Kim Zetter has a post titled “ACLU Sues Prosecutor Over ‘Sexting’ Child Porn Charges.”

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania today issued this news release and posted online a copy of its federal court complaint initiating suit.

It’s a big deal for tax lawyers — U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit grants rehearing en banc in United States v. Textron Inc. On January 23, 2009, The New York Times contained an article headlined “I.R.S. Is Thwarted as Court Shields Textron Tax Papers” that begins:

The Internal Revenue Service suffered a setback late Wednesday in its crusade against corporate tax shelters when an appeals court ruled that Textron, the maker of Cessna airplanes, did not have to turn over internal papers detailing its use of aggressive tax shelters.

According to the article, “The case has been closely watched by large corporations and their lawyers and accountants, who fear having to disclose potentially damaging deliberations regarding shelters that the I.R.S. considers abusive.”

The article reported on a ruling that a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued on January 21, 2009. In other coverage of that ruling, Reuters reported that “U.S. court rules Textron can keep paperwork from IRS.”

Today, however, the First Circuit entered an order granting rehearing en banc in the case, which means that all five active First Circuit judges are slated to rehear this appeal at an oral argument scheduled for June 2, 2009.

Update: “TaxProf Blog” links to its earlier coverage of this case in this new post.

“One would guess that the chances are pretty slim that the work of a 17th century French poet would find its way into a Chicago courtroom in 2009.” But, because an appeal that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit decided today involves the so-called “cat’s paw” theory, that’s exactly what has happened.

Today’s opinion, written by Circuit Judge Terence T. Evans, begins:

One would guess that the chances are pretty slim that the work of a 17th century French poet would find its way into a Chicago courtroom in 2009. But that’s the situation in this case as we try to make sense out of what has been dubbed the “cat’s paw” theory. The term derives from the fable “The Monkey and the Cat” penned by Jean de La Fontaine (1621-1695). In the tale, a clever–and rather unscrupulous–monkey persuades an unsuspecting feline to snatch chestnuts from a fire. The cat burns her paw in the process while the monkey profits, gulping down the chestnuts one by one. As understood today, a cat’s paw is a “tool” or “one used by another to accomplish his purposes.” Webster’s Third New International Dictionary (1976). More on this a little later.

You can access a translation of the fable at this link, and the fable apparently has inspired at least several artists (see here and here).

Seventh Circuit decides appeal involving approximately 81,454 cans of baby formula: I guess the U.S. Department of Justice is free to attempt to approximate with exactitude, instead of using round numbers like 81,500. At least that appears to be the federal government’s position given the caption of the case known as United States v. Approximately 81,454 Cans of Baby Formula.

Incredibly, it’s another one of those “use by” versus “best when purchased by” date cases, and (as with the Beanie Baby line of appellate litigation) apparently this all but guarantees that Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner will be the opinion’s author. Unlike last time, when the federal government’s attorney failed to emerge unscathed, today the federal government actually wins the appeal. And, as a result, the baby formula — or at least its usefulness as a nutritious beverage — is on the losing end of today’s ruling.

“Court focuses skeptical eye on McCain-Feingold”: Tony Mauro has this news analysis online at the First Amendment Center.

Today’s U.S. Supreme Court opinion in an argued case: The Court today issued its opinion in Puckett v. United States, No. 07-9712. Justice Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court, in which the Chief Justice and Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer, and Samuel A. Alito, Jr. joined. Justice David H. Souter issued a dissenting opinion, in which Justice John Paul Stevens joined. You can access the ruling at this link and the oral argument transcript at this link.

Update: The Associated Press reports that “Court rules for government in plea deal dispute.”

“Court weighs sex bias suit against Wal-Mart”: Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle.

And Reuters reports that “Wal-Mart sex discrimination case back in court.”

This blog’s most recent earlier coverage of yesterday’s Ninth Circuit en banc argument — including a link to the oral argument audio — can be accessed here.

“Keller denies charges she closed court to death row appeal”: Chuck Lindell has this article today in The Austin American-Statesman. You can access the written response to the charges by clicking here.

The Houston Chronicle reports today that “Keller shifts blame for execution blunder.”

And John Schwartz of The New York Times reports that “Texas Judge Denies Charges of Misconduct.”

“Supreme Court hears free-speech case on ‘Hillary: The Movie’; A majority of justices appear to agree that limits on corporate campaign spending violate free speech; The question is whether they will strike down some or all such restrictions.” David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. In addition, the newspaper contains an editorial entitled “Looking at ‘Hillary: The Movie’; Should 1st Amendment protections apply to a documentary critical of Hillary Clinton?”

Today in USA Today, Joan Biskupic reports that “High court hears arguments over anti-Clinton film.”

Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers has an article headlined “Political ad or free speech? Anti-Hillary film gets court screening.”

The Washington Times reports that “Justices view ‘Hillary’ movie; Group argues election film not campaign advocacy.”

Bill Mears of CNN.com reports that “‘Hillary: The Movie’ gets high court attention.”

And Josh Gerstein of Politico.com reports that “SCOTUS argues anti-Clinton film.”

“Security Worries in the Suburbs; Possible Move of Terrorist Suspects To Alexandria for Trial Raises Outcry”: Jerry Markon has this article today in The Washington Post.

“Handling Of ‘State Secrets’ At Issue; Like Predecessor, New Justice Dept. Claiming Privilege”: The Washington Post contains this front page article today.

“Law School begins search for new dean”: This article appears today in The Yale Daily News.

And The Los Angeles Times reports today that “Human rights advocate named State Department’s top lawyer; Harold Hongju Koh, dean at the Yale Law School, has been one of the most vocal critics of the Bush administration’s approach to the detention and trial of terrorism suspects.”

“Ex-judge fights to have his pension reinstated; A former Creek County judge who was convicted of indecent exposure is asking an Oklahoma County judge to reinstate his judicial retirement pay”: The Tulsa World contains this article today.

“State’s top court hears pros, cons of housing bans for sex offenders; 118 New Jersey towns have such restrictions”: This article appears today in The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger.

And The Philadelphia Inquirer reports today that “N.J. high court weighs sex-offender laws.”

“Defense to present case in Kan. abortion trial”: The Associated Press has this report.