“How NOT To Choose A Supreme Court Nominee: The adult industry doesn’t need a high court speech censor like Sonia Sotomayor.” Mark Kernes has this essay (essay may be accompanied by advertising that’s not appropriate for work) online at Adult Video News.

“Anonymous dishes on Sotomayor, Wood, Williams…” Michael Doyle of McClatchy’s Washington Bureau has this post today at his “Suits & Sentences” blog.

“Kent sentenced to 33 months behind bars; Federal judge headed to prison for trying to hinder inquiry into sex offenses”: Mary Flood of The Houston Chronicle has this news update.

And The Associated Press reports that “Federal judge in sex case gets nearly 3 years.”

FBI agent “John Doe” wins Federal Circuit victory in his quest to avoid losing his job for having surreptitiously videotaped his sexual encounters with three different women: You can access today’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit at this link.

According to the court’s majority opinion:

This aspect of Doe’s private life came to be known by the FBI through the actions of Female #1. In October 2002, while Doe was out of town, Female #1 entered his house and found the tapes, each with a videotaped partner’s name labeled on it. She contacted Doe and together, with the assistance of a professional counselor, they worked out the problems the tapes revealed about their relationship. Later, she shared her concerns with, and revealed the existence of the tapes to, counselors in the FBI Employee Assistance Program. From that point rumors spread about Doe and female co-workers at the FBI, which were upsetting to Female #1 and Female #2.

Who says Federal Circuit rulings can’t teach valuable life lessons?

The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined “Appeals court hears Indian trust case“;

“Court set to hear appeal by DC sniper mastermind“; and

“Suspected Nazi guard Demjanjuk faces deportation.”

“18,000 Same-Sex Couples Await Their Fate In Calif.” This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today’s broadcast of NPR’s “Morning Edition.”

“Judge will learn his fate today; Federal jurist Kent likely headed to prison for trying to hinder inquiry into sex offenses”: Mary Flood has this front page article today in The Houston Chronicle.

“Why Obama and the Senate Must Ask Specific Questions of Souter’s Replacement”: Law professor Vikram David Amar has this essay online at FindLaw.

“Torture allegation probes run political risks”: The San Francisco Chronicle contains this article today.

And today in The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina, law professor Joseph E. Kennedy has an op-ed entitled “Protesting the government’s misuse of law.”

“Judge No Longer A Believer In Unfettered Markets”: This audio segment (RealPlayer required) featuring Seventh Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner appeared on yesterday’s broadcast of NPR’s “All Things Considered.”

“Memos shed light on CIA use of sleep deprivation; Though widely perceived as more effective and less objectionable than other interrogation methods, memos show it’s harsher and more controversial than most realize; And it could be brought back”: This front page article appears today in The Los Angeles Times.

“Military base awaits uncertain future”: Carol Rosenberg has this front page article about Guantanamo today in The Miami Herald.

“Scouring Obama’s Past for Clues on Judiciary”: Charlie Savage will have this article Sunday in The New York Times. In addition, law professor Stephen L. Carter has an op-ed entitled “Let the Nominee Stay Home.”

Sunday’s edition of The Washington Post will contain articles headlined “In Court Pick, Obama Seeks to Be Bold but Not Provocative” and “Supreme Court Prospect Has Unlikely Ally; Friendship With Thomas May Complicate Chances for Left-Leaning Georgia Judge.”

Today in The Chicago Sun-Times, Abdon M. Pallasch reports that “‘Mezuzah case’ puts judge in spotlight; Wood, touted for top court, seen as hostile to religious issues.” My earlier coverage of that Seventh Circuit ruling can be accessed here.

The Pasadena Star-News reports that “Pasadena judge possibly considered for Supreme Court.”

Politico.com has a report headlined “McConnell: No ’empathetic’ Court pick.”

And Sunday in The Boston Globe, columnist Jeff Jacoby will have an op-ed entitled “Lady Justice’s blindfold.”

“Souter’s Tribe: Justice’s legacy tied to the 72 lawyers who clerked for him.” Tony Mauro will have this article Monday in The National Law Journal.

Sunday’s edition of The New York Times will contain an article headlined “For Alabama Republican, an Unlikely Role Looms.”

Today’s edition of The Daily Press of Newport News, Virginia contains an article headlined “Supreme Court vacancy: Black Caucus pushing Va. Rep. Scott.”

At The Huffington Post, law professor Geoffrey R. Stone has an essay entitled “The Next Justice: What Obama Wants.”

Today in The Wall Street Journal, David Lewis Schaefer has an op-ed entitled “When It Comes to Judges, ‘Pragmatic’ Means Unprincipled: How the president reasons that disregarding the rule of law can be a virtue.”

Online at NationalJournal.com, Stuart Taylor Jr. has an essay entitled “Obama’s Ideal Justice: Nominating a crusading liberal activist could seriously jeopardize the president’s own best interests.” In addition, Kirk Victor has an article headlined “The Borking Of Joe Biden: A bitter battle over a judicial nominee can have long-lasting reverberations; Just ask the Vice President.”

Today in The Des Moines Register, law professor Hunter R. Clark has an op-ed entitled “Obama should follow mind, heart in picking justice.”

Online at The New Republic, E.J. Dionne, Jr. has an essay entitled “Game On: My hope for a fair–but quite tough–Supreme Court fight.”

Yesterday in The Washington Post, Jeanne McManus has an op-ed entitled “My Audition for the Supremes.”

Thursday in The Oregonian, columnist Susan Nielsen had an op-ed entitled “Obama’s court pick.”

And earlier this week, The Concord (N.H.) Monitor published an editorial entitled “Washington didn’t change David Souter .”

“Fairness in the Torture Probe: Why the Justice Department should embrace disclosure in its investigation of Bush administration legal advice.” The Washington Post contains this editorial today.

“Obama Set to Revive Military Commissions; Changes Would Boost Detainee Rights”: This article appears today in The Washington Post.

“Who Will Succeed Justice Souter?” This audio segment (RealPlayer required) featuring Nina Totenberg appeared on this evening’s broadcast of NPR’s “All Things Considered.”

Today in The Daily Journal of California, Lawrence Hurley reports that “Gender May Beat Ethnicity In Justice Pick; Obama Likely to Pick Woman for Supreme Court.” Also in today’s newspaper, Laura Ernde has an article headlined “Hispanics Push Moreno for U.S. Supreme Court.”

Tom Curry, national affairs writer for MSNBC, reports that “Practical politico, and woman, sought for court; Democrats seek ‘real-life experience’ as pressure grows for a female justice.”

The Hill reports that “Lawmakers press for second black Justice.”

The New York Times today contains an editorial entitled “Choosing a New Justice.”

In The Washington Times, Wesley Pruden has an op-ed entitled “Borking machine gets early tuneup.” In addition, Suzanne Fields has an op-ed entitled “Souter, Specter and a soft shoe: A vaudeville act that will little impact the passing scene.”

And at CQ Politics, Madison Powers has an essay entitled “Choosing a Justice Who Cares Enough to Notice.”

“Canada appeals ruling on Guantanamo detainee”: The Associated Press has this report.

And online at Slate, Christopher Beam has an essay entitled “Escape From Guantanamo: Shouldn’t Republicans want terrorists dumped into the abusive U.S. prison system?”

“The YouTube Confirmation: What Supreme Court shortlisters are saying when they think nobody is listening.” Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

“Chemical Company Is Acquitted in Asbestos Case”: The New York Times has this news update.

The Associated Press reports that “Jury acquits Grace Co., executives in asbestos case; Montana residents had blamed asbestos for 225 deaths and 2,000 illnesses.”

Reuters reports that “W.R. Grace acquitted in Montana asbestos case.”

And Bloomberg News reports that “W.R. Grace Found Not Guilty in Montana Asbestos Trial.”

“White House: No Supreme Court nominee next week.” The Associated Press has this report.

“US Justice Alito addresses Juneau on hot-button issues; Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court spoke Thursday in Juneau”: Today’s edition of The Juneau Empire contains an article that begins, “Alaska has had a disproportionate presence on the docket of the U.S. Supreme Court recently, including punitive damages in the Exxon Valdez oil spill and Juneau’s Bong Hits 4 Jesus cases. Three more are awaiting decisions now, Samuel Alito, an associate justice on the court, told the Alaska Bar Association Thursday in Juneau.”

Available online from The New Republic: Law professor Jeffrey Rosen has an essay entitled “More Sotomayor: Jeffrey Rosen Responds To His Critics.”

Elizabeth Goitein has an essay entitled “So Many Secrets: Will Obama change his heart on a key rule-of-law issue?”

And law professor David Fontana has an essay entitled “A New Kind of Adviser: The good news and the bad news about Harold Koh, one of Obama’s most important nominees.”

“Lawmaker Defends Imprisoning Hostile Bloggers”: David Kravets has this post at Wired.com’s “Threat Level” blog in which he responds to this.

“Bids to Push States’ Rights Falter in Face of Stimulus”: This article appears today in The New York Times.

“Pelosi Was Told of Interrogation Techniques, Congress Log Shows”: James Rowley of Bloomberg News has this report.

The Wall Street Journal reports today that “CIA Says It Briefed Congressional Leaders.”

The Boston Globe reports today that “Psychologists’ e-mails stir interrogation issue; Critics urge inquiry on ethics question.”

And Reuters reports that “Holder cautious on U.S. interrogations probes.”

“Lopsided Fight Over High Court Shapes Up; Conservatives Prepare For Underdog Role”: Friday’s edition of The Washington Post will contain this article.

“Lawmakers Balk at Holding Guantanamo Detainees in U.S.” This article will appear Friday in The Washington Post.

And McClatchy Newspapers report that “GOP ratchets up debate over release of Gitmo detainees.”

“White House Formalizes Supreme Court Short List”: ABC News correspondent Jan Crawford Greenburg has this post at her “Legalities” blog.

“Supreme Court denies Demjanjuk’s deportation plea”: The Associated Press has this report.

“This case stems from a dangerous, cruel, and highly indecent use of the internet for the apparent purpose of revenge.” So writes Circuit Judge Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain, on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in a ruling issued today in the case known as Barnes v. Yahoo!, Inc.

According to today’s decision, the plaintiff’s lawsuit (access the plaintiff’s complaint initiating suit at this link) alleged that her former boyfriend created a Yahoo! account through which the plaintiff herself appeared to be soliciting men with whom to have sexual relations and that the Yahoo! account “also included the addresses, real and electronic, and telephone number at [plaintiff’s] place of employment.” Thereafter, men whom the plaintiff did not know “were peppering her office with emails, phone calls, and personal visits, all in the expectation of sex.”

The trial court in November 2005 had issued a decision dismissing all of plaintiff’s claims, holding that Yahoo! was immune from liability under the Communications Decency Act of 1996 even though plaintiff had alleged that Yahoo! “undertook to remove from its website material harmful to the plaintiff but failed to do so.”

Today’s ruling holds that plaintiff’s complaint can be understood to allege a claim for promissory estoppel and that the Communications Decency Act would not necessarily preclude that claim.

Additional coverage of the trial court’s ruling in this case can be accessed via Citizen Media Law Project, “Internet Library of Law and Court Decisions,” and law professor Eric Goldman’s “Technology & Marketing Law Blog.”

In today’s mail: A copy of the new book “A Good Quarrel: America’s Top Legal Reporters Share Stories from Inside the Supreme Court,” edited by Timothy R. Johnson and Jerry Goldman. Audio clips featured in the book can be accessed via this link.

“To Replace Low-Key Souter, Obama May Go Bolder”: Adam Liptak will have this article Friday in The New York Times.

The Economist has posted online an article headlined “Following Souter: Barack Obama has a chance to rejuvenate the Supreme Court’s liberal wing.”

Politico.com has articles headlined “Sessions open minded on gay justice” and “Hatch: Sotomayor has ‘a problem.’”

NationalJournal.com has an item headlined “Sessions Says He’s Looking For Judicial Restraint; New Ranking Member On Senate Judiciary Panel Describes What He’s Seeking In A Supreme Court Nominee.”

And The Nation has posted online an editorial entitled “Following Souter.”

“Supreme Court Justice Alito visits Juneau”: This article appears today in The Juneau Empire.

“The Case for Empathy: Why a much-maligned value is a crucial qualification for the Supreme Court.” Law professor Douglas W. Kmiec has this essay at the web site of America, the national Catholic weekly.