“Big Tobacco Loses in Appeals Court; Judges Uphold 2006 Ruling That Firms Lied About Risks”: This article will appear Saturday in The Washington Post.

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

“O’Connor on Judicial Elections, Civic Education and the High Court Vacancy: In interview, retired justice says a woman should be the choice.” Tony Mauro will have this article in next week’s issue of The National Law Journal.

“Obama on Pace to Name Supreme Court Nominee Before Heading Overseas”: This article will appear Saturday in The Washington Post.

“At a Symposium of Judges, a Debate on the Laws of Fashion”: John Schwartz will have this article Saturday in The New York Times.

“Some possible nominees had easy Senate path before”: Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press has a report that begins, “Some of the people President Barack Obama is considering for the Supreme Court got significant support from Republicans when they were last before the Senate seeking jobs in the judiciary or executive branches of government.”

Bill Mears of CNN.com reports that “Supreme Court confirmations a mix of politics, tradition.”

FOXNews.com reports that “Obama Spokesman Pranks White House Press Corps on Supreme Court Pick.”

And Michael D. Shear and Peter Slevin of The Washington Post have a blog post titled “Interview Schedule Indicates Obama on Track to Announce Supreme Court Pick.”

“Justice Souter and the Supreme Court’s Church-State Balance”: Melissa Rogers has this essay online at the web site of The Brookings Institution.

“Vets Make Memorial Day Plea to Supreme Court”: At “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times,” Tony Mauro has a post that begins, “Representatives of major veterans’ groups on Thursday called on the Supreme Court to allow the Mojave Desert Veterans Memorial to stand within the Mojave Desert Preserve in California, and to reject Establishment Clause arguments against it.”

“3rd Circuit Committee in Kozinski Probe Completes Investigation”: John Roemer has this article today in The Daily Journal of California.

“Supreme Court prospects may trip over own words”: Sharon Theimer and Pete Yost of The Associated Press have this report.

“State high court to rule Tuesday on Prop. 8”: Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has a news update that begins, “The state Supreme Court will rule Tuesday on a challenge to Proposition 8, the ballot measure that reinstated California’s ban on same-sex marriage.”

The Sacramento Bee has a news update headlined “Prop. 8 ruling coming Tuesday.”

Maura Dolan of The Los Angeles Times has a blog post titled “California Supreme Court to rule on Proposition 8 Tuesday.”

And The Associated Press reports that “California high court set to rule on gay marriage.”

Today’s announcement from the Supreme Court of California of “Forthcoming Opinion Filings” can be viewed at this link.

Ordinarily, California’s highest court issues new opinions on Mondays and Thursdays, but because next Monday is the Memorial Day holiday, the court’s next opinion announcement date will be next Tuesday. The opinion will appear online at this link at 1 p.m. eastern time (10 a.m. pacific time) Tuesday.

“Identity Politics And Sotomayor: The judge’s thinking is representative of the Democratic Party’s powerful identity-politics wing.” Stuart Taylor Jr. has this new essay online at the web site of National Journal.

Second Circuit Judge Sonia Sotomayor argues that clearly established Fourth Amendment precedent did not permit arrestees for misdemeanors to be forced to expose their private parts to corrections officers and inmates without reasonable suspicion: Beginning at page 25 of this PDF file, you can access her dissent from a ruling that a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued today.

“Defendants in this action, cigarette manufacturers and trade organizations, appeal from the district court’s judgment finding them liable for conducting the affairs of their joint enterprise through a pattern of mail and wire fraud in a scheme to deceive American consumers.” So begins a lengthy per curiam opinion that a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued today.

The introduction to today’s opinion summarizes the court’s holdings as follows: “After
considering all of the parties’ arguments, we affirm in large part the finding of liability, remanding only for dismissal of the trade organizations. We also largely affirm the remedial order, including the denial of additional remedies, but vacate the order with regard to four discrete issues, remanding for further proceedings as directed in this opinion.”

Update: The Associated Press reports that “Cigarette makers lose appeal in landmark case.”

The Washington Post has a news update headlined “Appeals Court Upholds Landmark Case Against Tobacco Industry.”

Reuters reports that “U.S. appeals court agrees tobacco companies lied.”

Bloomberg News reports that “Altria, Cigarette Makers Lose ‘Lights’ Ruling Appeal.”

And at “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston has a post titled “Sweeping tobacco ruling headed for Court?”

“Obama Would Move Some Detainees to U.S.” This article appears today in The New York Times, along with an article headlined “Detainee to Be Transferred to U.S. for Trial.”

Today’s edition of The Washington Post contains articles headlined “Obama Endorses Indefinite Detention Without Trial for Some” and “Supermax Prisons in U.S. Already Hold Terrorists.”

Marisa Taylor and Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers report that “Obama’s proposed Guantanamo legal plan rife with problems.”

And Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has an article headlined “Obama: Bring Guantanamo detainees to US, detain some indefinitely; His bid to close the prison camp in jeopardy, he laid out five options Thursday for resolving the detainees’ status.”

“Obama Curtails Bush’s Policy of ‘Preemption’; It Let Federal Rules Override State Laws”: The Washington Post contains this article today.

“Indiana judge’s confirmation vote postponed; GOP senator cites jurist’s ruling on Statehouse prayers”: This article appears today in The Indianapolis Star.

And Bloomberg News reports that “Republicans Block Action on Obama’s Nominee for U.S. Judiciary.”

“Pussy” energy drink dispute coming soon to the Federal Circuit? According to “The TTABlog,” “Applicant argued that the word ‘pussy’ has multiple meanings, that nothing in the mark or in the packaging for the product suggests a vulgar meaning, and that the PTO did not establish how the mark would be perceived as scandalous in the marketplace.”

Notwithstanding those arguments, in a ruling issued last week the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board refused to register the mark “Pussy” for energy drinks because the TTAB found the mark to be scandalous.

“Labor Ruling Could Be Headed for U.S. Supreme Court; In a case originating in Georgia, the D.C. Circuit questioned the validity of decisions made by the two-member NLRB”: Alyson M. Palmer of the Fulton County Daily Report has this article.

“Sotomayor, Moreno in Talks For Souter Seat”: Laura Ernde and Lawrence Hurley will have this article Friday in The Daily Journal of California.

Bill Mears of CNN.com reports that “Hispanic high court candidates given White House scrutiny.”

The Fayetteville Observer has a blog post titled “Timmons-Goodson on U.S. Supreme Court rumors.”

Friday in The Wall Street Journal, Collin Levy will have an op-ed entitled “How Joe Biden Wrecked the Judicial Confirmation Process: The vice president can’t complain if Republicans object to Obama’s Supreme Court nominee.”

And Friday in The Boston Globe, columnist Ellen Goodman will have an op-ed entitled “What’s so bad about empathy?”

“Replacing Justice Souter: Legal experts discuss Obama’s forthcoming Supreme Court nomination.” This article appears online today at Reason.

“Judge Sotomayor’s Opinions with Dissents – Part I”: Kevin Russell has this post today at “SCOTUSblog.”

Recent posts of interest at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.” Tony Mauro has a post titled “If Picked, Granholm Would be 7th Foreign-Born Justice.”

Jordan Weissmann has a post titled “Justice Breyer: Judges Need Voice in the Cabinet.”

And David Ingram has a post titled “Republicans Delay Votes on Appellate Nominees.”

“Obama Breaks From Bush on Pre-emption”: Lawrence Hurley has this article today in The Daily Journal of California.

“Gays Have Served Honorably in the War on Terror; It’s time to end ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell'”: Brian Hughes has this op-ed today in The Wall Street Journal.

“Obama says US prisons tough enough for detainees”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “President Barack Obama vigorously defended his plans to close the Guantanamo prison camp on Thursday and promised to work with Congress to develop a system for imprisoning detainees who can’t be tried and can’t be turned loose.”

“Shift Toward State Rules on Product Liability”: This preemption-related article appears today in The Wall Street Journal.

You can access at this link the memorandum that President Obama issued yesterday on the subject of preemption.

“Female guards OKd to strip-search male inmates”: Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article that begins, “A male prisoner can be strip-searched by a female guard even if male officers are available, a federal appeals court has ruled. In a 2-1 decision, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco dismissed an Arizona inmate’s claims that jail officials had violated his rights by having a female guard trainee search inside his shorts and pat down his genitals.”

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

“Search for Supreme Court Justice Reaches Interview Stage”: The New York Times contains this article today.

And today in USA Today, Joan Biskupic has an article headlined “Precedents on presidential choices for Supreme Court.”

“Push in Spain to Limit Reach of the Courts”: This article appears today in The New York Times.

“Equal Pay for Women Denied, Again”: Today’s edition of The New York Times contains an editorial that begins, “The Supreme Court keeps finding ways to deny women equal pay and benefits.”

“Death Row Foes See Newsroom Cuts as Blow”: The New York Times today contains an article that begins, “Opponents of the death penalty looking to exonerate wrongly accused prisoners say their efforts have been hobbled by the dwindling size of America’s newsrooms, and particularly the disappearance of investigative reporting at many regional papers.”

“Bloggers, Beware: What You Write Can Get You Sued.” The Wall Street Journal contains this article today.

“The Battle Over Benefits for Same-Sex Spouses: Lawsuit Seeks Same Rights Straight Couples Possess; Opponents Fear Campaign to Advance Gay Marriage Nationally.” This article appears today in The Wall Street Journal.

“The Supreme Court Dismisses a 9/11 Detainee’s Civil Lawsuit”: Michael C. Dorf has this essay online at FindLaw.

“Execution protocol passes test; 13 more on death row in Missouri”: The Kansas City Star contains this article today.