“Houston lawyer defends contract; Critics say job in Pennsylvania is ‘pay to play'”: This article appears today in The Houston Chronicle.

“Justices Could Weigh Free Speech vs. License Plates”: Adam Liptak will have this new installment of his “Sidebar” column Tuesday in The New York Times.

Media tycoon Conrad Black and his co-defendants file reply brief in support of their petition for writ of certiorari seeking U.S. Supreme Court review of the Seventh Circuit’s affirmance of their federal criminal convictions: You can access the reply brief, filed today, by clicking here.

Earlier this month, I had this post linking to the federal government’s brief in opposition.

Recent posts of interest at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.” Tony Mauro has a post titled “Supreme Court Nixes Oral Argument on Police Interrogation Case.”

And David Ingram has a post titled “Supporters of OLC Nominee Push for Confirmation.”

“The Next War Over the Courts: Conservatives are already fired up about Obama’s judicial nominations; Is the White House prepared for the fight?” Doug Kendall and Simon Lazarus have this article in the May 2009 issue of The American Prospect.

Access online today’s Order List of the Supreme Court of the United States: The Court has posted today’s Order List at this link.

The Court today granted review in three cases and requested the views of the Solicitor General in one case.

At “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston has a post titled “Court grants 3, won’t reargue Montejo.”

And The Associated Press reports that “Court to consider case of immigrant who overslept“; “Court refuses appeal from reputed drug kingpin“; and “Court refuses to let officer sue over his arrest.”

“Sordid Business: Will the Supreme Court kill the Voting Rights Act?” Law professor Richard L. Hasen — author of the “Election Law” blog — has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

“New administration plays ‘I’ve got a (state) secret’: Let judges review whether classified actions need to stay that way.” USA Today contains this editorial today.

In response, Andrew M. Grossman has an op-ed entitled “Keep courts out of it: National security policy belongs in the executive branch and Congress.”

“Advisers Pressed On Memo Fallout; Obama’s Stance On Trials Is Issue”: This article appears today in The Washington Post. In addition, columnist Michael Gerson has an op-ed entitled “Lines on a Slippery Slope.”

The Wall Street Journal reports today that “U.S. Weighs Release of More CIA Memos.” The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled “The ACLU’s Photo Shoot: Another misguided attempt at ‘moral superiority’” and an op-ed by William M. McSwain entitled “Misconceptions About the Interrogation Memos: Their goal was to allow the CIA and military to stay within the parameters of a murky area of the law.”

And The Los Angeles Times contains an editorial entitled “Taking on torture: An investigation into the abuse of suspected terrorists is vital, but it must be conducted with care” and an op-ed by Frank Snepp entitled “Tortured by the past: There’s a disturbing link between Gitmo and the interrogation tactics I used in Vietnam.”

“Judge Bybee’s cruelty: In approving torture, his remoteness from the actual torturers increases his degree of responsibility.” Jon B. Eisenberg had this op-ed yesterday in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

“Court Weighs Funding For Special Education; Private-School Tuition at Heart of Case”: Robert Barnes and Daniel de Vise have this article today in The Washington Post.

“In Iowa, a historic day for gay couples; Starting today, they can get license to wed”: This article appears today in USA Today.

Today’s edition of The Des Moines Register contains articles headlined “Gays could wed today, but rights don’t follow out of state” and “Religious backers of gay marriage celebrate.”

And The Associated Press reports that “Iowa becomes 3rd state where gays can legally wed.”

“N.J. justices weigh limits on gun sales”: The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger today contains an article that begins, “The state Supreme Court will tackle the always-controversial issue of gun control today when it considers whether cities and towns may enact their own laws limiting the sale of firearms.”

And today in The New York Times, Jimmy Carter has an op-ed entitled “What Happened to the Ban on Assault Weapons?”

“Next Case: State vs. Federal Power; Justices to Rule if U.S. Treasury Can Shield National Banks From New York Laws.” Jess Bravin has this article today in The Wall Street Journal.

“Asylum seekers have better luck with northern or female judges; Northern, female judges most likely to let them stay”: Abdon M. Pallasch has this article today in The Chicago Sun-Times.