“The Half-Life of Torture”: In today’s edition of The Recorder of San Francisco, California, Dan Levine has an article that begins, “Six weeks before Gen. Augusto Pinochet overthrew the Chilean government in 1973, Jay Bybee, a 19-year-old Mormon missionary, disembarked in windswept Punta Arenas, nearly 2,000 miles south of Santiago.”

See also the ABA Journal’s “Law News Now” post titled “Does Bybee’s ‘Easy Personality’ Explain Why He Signed ‘Torture Memos’?”

“Judge OKs collecting of dead son’s sperm; Mother of man who died after Sixth Street attack wants to try to have grandchildren”: This article appears today in The Austin American-Statesman.

And The Associated Press reports that “Texas judge allows collection of dead son’s sperm.”

“Coleman-Franken Senate Race May Hinge on Bush v. Gore Decision”: Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News has this report.

“To noted lawyer, it’s an open and shout case; Offbeat tactics in music-sharing suit stun peers”: Jonathan Saltzman has this article today in The Boston Globe.

Boston’s ABC affiliate WCVB has a report headlined “B.U. Student: Court Recording Case Could Make History; Tenenbaum Accused In Music Downloading Lawsuit.”

And at “The Am Law Litigation Daily,” Andrew Longstreth has a post titled “First Circuit to Hear Arguments over Webcasting of Illegal Downloading Case.”

Available online from law.com: Shannon P. Duffy reports that “3rd Circuit Rejects Muslim Cop’s Bid to Wear Religious Scarf.” You can access yesterday’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit at this link.

And in other news, “Calif. High Court Rejects Claim Over Misplaced Cadaver.” My earlier coverage of the ruling appears at this link.

“Pa. high court grants hearing to review defamation trial”: The Philadelphia Inquirer today contains an article that begins, “Exercising rarely used authority, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania yesterday granted a Wilkes-Barre newspaper a hearing to determine whether a new trial should be held in a case in which the paper lost a $3.5 million defamation verdict handed down by a now-disgraced former judge.”

Today’s edition of The The Citizens Voice of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania contains articles headlined “Hearing granted in alleged case-fixing” and “Key witness in defamation case used to trouble.”

And The Times Leader of Wilkes-Barre reports that “High court orders hearing on $3.5M verdict; Evidence of tainting spurred by corruption charges prompts review of ruling against Scranton Times L.P.”

You can access here and here yesterday’s orders of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

“The ABA’s Liberal Bias: Who should judge the judges?” Law professor Richard A. Epstein has this essay at Forbes.com.

“Another legal setback for detainees”: Lyle Denniston has this post at “SCOTUSblog.”

My earlier coverage of today’s D.C. Circuit ruling appears at this link.

In today’s mail: The book “What Every Law Student Really Needs to Know: An Introduction to the Study of Law” by Tracey E. George and Suzanna Sherry.

“Shorting Reason: Can Human Psychology Explain The Current Economic Crisis?” In the April 15, 2009 issue of The New Republic, Seventh Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner will have this lengthy review of the book “Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the Economy, and Why It Matters for Global Capitalism” by George A. Akerlof and Robert J. Shiller.

“Fiction and Faction: Iowa judges have imposed gay marriage on a state that voted against it.” Andrew C. McCarthy has this essay today at National Review Online.

Ninth Circuit grants stay pending appeal to prevent the State of California from reducing Medi-Cal fee-for-service rates to hospitals: You can access yesterday’s eleven-page order granting the stay at this link.

The Associated Press is reporting: Mark Sherman reports that “Consensus in vogue at high court, so far.”

And in other news, “Sandra Day O’Connor touts civics lessons via games.” You can access the web site discussed in the article by clicking here.

Recent posts of interest at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.” Tony Mauro has a post titled “In Twelfth Night Mock Trial, Malvolio Loses.” In his post, Tony — who’s now a Jeopardy answer — writes that “Three Supreme Court justices and five other federal judges, comprising the ‘Supreme Court of Illyria,’ wrestled with the hypothetical case of Malvolio’s Revenge, stemming from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.”

And David Ingram has a post titled “Bar Association Finds Obama Nominees ‘Well-Qualified.’”

“Barney Frank is all wrong on Scalia’s dissent”: Law professor Ann Althouse has this op-ed today in The Chicago Tribune.

“Vermont legalizes gay marriage with veto override”: The Associated Press has this report.

Earlier, the Vermont Press Bureau had a report that begins, “Gov. James Douglas vetoed the same-sex marriage bill Monday evening, just 15 minutes after lawmakers put the final touches on the legislation. The Vermont Senate is expected to easily override the Republican governor’s veto this morning. Then attention will be focused on a much-anticipated veto showdown in the House, where the bill’s fate is less clear: two-thirds support is needed to override a veto.”

D.C. Circuit refuses to adjudicate the sovereign status of Taiwan: Circuit Judge Janice Rogers Brown delivered today’s ruling on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel.

Majority on divided three-judge D.C. Circuit panel overturns federal district court order requiring the federal government to provide 30 days’ notice to counsel for nine Uighur detainees before transferring them from Guantanamo: You can access today’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit at this link.

In commentary available online at FindLaw: Michael C. Dorf has an essay entitled “Why the Supreme Court Decision Upholding Cost-Benefit Analysis Under the Clean Water Act Should Not be Used to Discredit Best-Practice Standards.”

And Carl Tobias has an essay entitled “The New Postpartisan Selection of Federal Judges: President Obama Displays His Commitment to Ending the Confirmation Wars.”

“High court rejects Abu-Jamal’s bid for new trial”: This article appears today in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Available online from law.com: Shannon P. Duffy has articles headlined “U.S. Supreme Court Reverses 3rd Circuit Over Federal Agents’ Delay Tactics” and “U.S. Supreme Court Denies Abu-Jamal New Trial.”

And in other news, “High Court to Hear Attorney Fees Case; Issue comes from Georgia, which says $10.5 million is too much for foster care lawyers.”

“Widow loses lawsuit over UC Irvine’s willed body program; Evelyn Conroy sued after the university lost track of James Conroy’s body; The California Supreme Court says she failed to prove that the university violated its donation agreement with her husband”: Maura Dolan of The Los Angeles Times has this news update about a ruling that the Supreme Court of California issued today.

“Administration defends Bush wire-taps”: Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has a news update that begins, “The Obama administration is again invoking government secrecy in defending the Bush administration’s wiretapping program, this time against a lawsuit by AT&T customers who claim federal agents illegally intercepted their phone calls and gained access to their records.”

“Judge: U.S. used mentally ill witness in Guantanamo cases.” Marisa Taylor of McClatchy Newspapers has this report.

“The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide a long-running dispute over $10.5 million awarded to plaintiffs’ attorneys in a Georgia case alleging foster care violations.” So begins a news update that Bill Rankin has online at the web site of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

And at “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston has a post titled “A test of a $10 million attorneys’ fee.”

“Court: Mich. hospital can be sued in wife’s death.” The Associated Press has a report that begins, “A Michigan hospital can be sued for releasing a man who killed his estranged wife with an ax 10 days later, a federal appeals court ruled Monday.”

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

“Some voluntary confessions still out”: At “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston has a post that begins, “Rehabilitating one of the more controversial criminal law rulings of the ‘Warren Court,’ a decision that decades ago stirred angry complaints from ‘tough-on-crime’ politicians, a divided Supreme Court ruled on Monday that some confessions to a federal crime cannot be used even if they were given voluntarily.”

Second Circuit affirms James C. Kopp’s federal convictions and life sentence for intentionally inflicting on a person, because that person was a provider of reproductive health services, an injury resulting in death: You can access today’s per curiam ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit at this link.

Coverage from The New York Times of the underlying trial can be accessed via this link.

Update: The Associated Press reports that “NY court upholds sentence of abortion doc’s killer.”

Access online today’s U.S. Supreme Court rulings in argued cases: The Court today has issued two rulings in argued cases.

1. Today’s first ruling issued in Corley v. United States, No. 07-10441. Justice David H. Souter delivered the opinion of the Court, which has decided this case by a 5-4 margin. Justices John Paul Stevens, Anthony M. Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Stephen G. Breyer joined in the majority opinion. Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. issued a dissenting opinion, in which the Chief Justice and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas joined. You can access the ruling at this link and the oral argument transcript at this link.

2. Today’s second and final ruling issued in United States v. Navajo Nation, No. 07-1410. Justice Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court. In addition, Justice Souter issued a concurring opinion in which Justice Stevens joined. You can access the ruling at this link and the oral argument transcript at this link.

In early news coverage, The Associated Press reports that “Court rules for suspect in dispute over confession” and “Court rules against Navajo Nation in coal case.”

Access online today’s Order List of the U.S. Supreme Court: The Court has posted it online at this link.

The Court today granted review in one case. This blog’s earlier coverage of the case in which the Court granted review today can be accessed here and here.

In early news coverage, The Associated Press reports that “Court to decide if good lawyers can get more money” and “High court lets Abu-Jamal’s conviction stand.”

“Protecting Sources: A federal shield law is within reach.” This editorial appears today in The Washington Post.

“Land trust case may not impact many other tribes”: Today’s edition of The Providence (R.I.) Journal contains an article that begins, “One thing is certain about Carcieri v. Salazar, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling issued Feb. 24 after years of argument in the federal courts pitting the Narragansett Indian tribe against the State of Rhode Island and the Town of Charlestown.”

“Holder has a long to-do list at Justice; Analysts: Attorney general’s recent actions show he’s trying to restore credibility to the department.” This article appears today in USA Today.

“First Circuit reveals panel for Tenenbaum webcast hearing; ghost of ‘Boston’s Children First’ looms”: Ben Sheffner has this post at his “Copyrights & Campaigns” blog.

“Firefighters’ civil rights case could reshape hiring policies; The Supreme Court will soon hear arguments in the case, in which 20 white firefighters allege racial discrimination; It will be the Roberts court’s first broad case tackling race in the workplace”: David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times.