“Top court requires lab analyst testimony”: James Vicini of Reuters has this report.

“Strip Search of Student Was Illegal, Top Court Says”: Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News has this report.

And James Vicini of Reuters reports that “Supreme Court rejects school strip search.”

“Court eases rules on English learner program”: The Arizona Republic has a news update that begins, “The U.S. Supreme Court took a major step toward ending a 17-year legal battle today, deciding Arizona has done enough to help students who haven’t learned to speak, read or write English.”

“We are called upon to review a matter involving a doctor’s application for discharge from the Army as a conscientious objector.” So begins an interesting opinion that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued today.

Access today’s opinions of the U.S. Supreme Court in argued cases: The first opinion issued today came in Horne v. Flores, No. 08-289. Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. wrote the majority opinion in this 5-4 ruling. Joining in the majority opinion were the Chief Justice and Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy, and Clarence Thomas. Justice Stephen G. Breyer issued a dissenting opinion, in which Justices John Paul Stevens, David H. Souter, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg joined. You can access the opinion at this link and the oral argument transcript at this link.

Today’s second opinion issued in Atlantic Sounding Co. v. Townsend, No. 08-214. The unusual line-up of Justices in this 5-4 ruling is as follows. Justice Thomas delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Justices Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer joined. Justice Alito issued a dissenting opinion, in which the Chief Justice and Justices Scalia and Kennedy joined. You can access the opinion at this link. and the oral argument transcript at this link.

Today’s third opinion issued in Safford United School Dist. #1 v. Redding, No. 08-479. Justice Souter delivered the opinion of the Court, in which the Chief Justice and Justices Scalia, Kennedy, Breyer, and Alito joined in full, and in which Justices Stevens and Ginsburg joined in large part. Justice Stevens filed an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part, in which Justice Ginsburg joined. Justice Ginsburg also filed an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part. And Justice Thomas filed an opinion concurring in the judgment in part and dissenting in part. You can access the opinion at this link and the oral argument transcript at this link.

The fourth and final decision issued today came in Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, No. 07-591. The unusual line-up of Justices in this 5-4 ruling is as follows. Justice Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Justices Stevens, Souter, Thomas, and Ginsburg joined. Justice Thomas also issued a concurring opinion. And Justice Kennedy issued a dissenting opinion, in which the Chief Justice and Justices Breyer and Alito joined. You can access the opinion at this link and the oral argument transcript at this link.

The remaining three decisions in cases argued this Term will be announced on Monday. Those cases are: Citizens United v. Federal Election Comm’n, No. 08-205 (access the oral argument transcript here); Ricci v. DeStefano, No. 07-1428 (access the oral argument transcript here); and Cuomo v. Clearing House Assn., L.L.C., No. 08-453 (access the oral argument transcript here).

As an aside, the seniority of the Justice who wrote the majority opinion (or the opinion announcing the judgment of the Court) determines the order in which opinions are announced. The most junior Justice’s opinions are announced first, The Chief Justice’s opinions are announced last.

In early news coverage, The Associated Press reports that “Court says strip search of child illegal“; “Court rules for defendants on crime lab reports“; “Court eases oversight of Ariz. English program“; and “Court rules for seaman in dispute with ship owner.”

And then there were seven: The remaining seven argued cases from this Term in which the U.S. Supreme Court has yet to issue decisions are:

1. Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, No. 07-591 (access the oral argument transcript here);

2. Atlantic Sounding Co. v. Townsend, No. 08-214 (access the oral argument transcript here);

3. Citizens United v. Federal Election Comm’n, No. 08-205 (access the oral argument transcript here);

4. Horne v. Flores, No. 08-289 (access the oral argument transcript here);

5. Safford United School Dist. #1 v. Redding, No. 08-479 (access the oral argument transcript here);

6. Ricci v. DeStefano, No. 07-1428 (access the oral argument transcript here); and

7. Cuomo v. Clearing House Assn., L.L.C., No. 08-453 (access the oral argument transcript here).

The Court is expected to announce additional opinions at 10 a.m. eastern time today, just moments from now.

“Delay Damages Bump Up Lackawanna Verdict by Nearly $7 Mil.” Gina Passarella today has this article, in which I am mentioned, in The Legal Intelligencer, Philadelphia’s daily newspaper for lawyers.

“Sotomayor Ruling Exposes Racial Split in Firehouses Across U.S.” Bloomberg News has this report.

And online at Slate, Nicole Allan and Emily Bazelon have a five-part series about Ricci v. DeStefano titled “The Ladder: How a Supreme Court case about promotions at a local fire department will decide who gets the good jobs in cities across America..” Part one is subtitled “A Connecticut City’s Race Problem Sparks a National Debate“; part two “Do White, Black, and Hispanic Firefighters in New Haven Get Along?“; part three “Why Did New Haven’s White Firefighters Test Better Than Blacks and Hispanics?“; part four “Is There a Better Way to Decide Who Gets Promoted?“; and part five “Is There Any Fair Solution to the New Haven Case?”

“Virginia Abortion Restriction Is Upheld; U.S. Appeals Court Votes 6-5 to Back ‘Partial Birth’ Ban”: The Washington Post contains this article today.

And The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports today that “Va. ‘partial-birth’ abortion ban upheld.”

My earlier coverage of yesterday’s en banc Fourth Circuit ruling appears at this link.

“White supremacist Hal Turner arrested, charged; FBI says blogger threatened to kill 3 U.S. appellate judges in Chicago”: This article appears today in The Chicago Tribune.

The New York Times reports today that “Radio Host Is Arrested in Threats on 3 Judges.”

The Hartford Courant reports that “Blogger Hal Turner Charged With Threatening Chicago-Area Judges.”

And The Jersey Journal contains an article headlined “Held on Threat to Judges; On Turner blog: Photos, ‘deserve to be killed.’”

My earlier coverage appears at this link.

“Another abortion case developing”: Lyle Denniston has this post at “SCOTUSblog.”

My earlier coverage of today’s en banc Fourth Circuit ruling appears at this link.

“3rd Circuit Mulls Pre-emption of Class Action Over Snapple’s Nutrition Claims”: Shannon P. Duffy of The Legal Intelligencer has this report.

“GOP to press Sotomayor on gun rights; Republicans say they will question the Supreme Court nominee on the divisive issue at her confirmation hearings in hopes of weakening her support among moderate Democrats”: James Oliphant and David G. Savage will have this article Thursday in The Los Angeles Times.

Thursday’s edition of The New York Times will have an article headlined “In ’98, Hints From Sotomayor on Death Penalty.”

In Thursday’s edition of The Wall Street Journal, Nathan Koppel will have an article headlined “Private Clubs That Aren’t Private Under the Law: Courts Might Deem Groups Public if They Have Broad Admissions Policies but Discriminate Based on Gender or Race.”

The Washington Times reports today that “GOP strikes again at nominee; Senators continue to raise questions about Sotomayor.” The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled “Sotomayor’s ethical oversight: Who were the ‘associates’ in her legal consulting business?”

The Hill reports that “Sotomayor, senators engage in small talk” and “Specter to nudge Sotomayor on SCOTUS cameras.”

Politico.com reports that “Republicans drop niceties, go on attack on Sotomayor.”

At the “Legal Beat” blog of CQ Politics, Keith Perine has a post titled “Confirmation Process ‘Miserable,’ O’Connor Says.” You can view the video of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s appearance on today’s broadcast of the NBC News program “The Today Show” by clicking here.

In commentary, The New York Times contains an op-ed by Ramesh Ponnuru entitled “When Judicial Activism Suits the Right.”

And in The Boston Globe, Neal Gabler has an op-ed entitled “Judging from the heart – or the head.”

“Internet Radio Talk Show Host Hal Turner Arrested for Threatening Three Federal Appeals Court Judges in Chicago Over Recent Decision Upholding Handgun Bans”: The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois today issued this press release.

Abdon M. Pallasch of The Chicago Sun-Times has a news update headlined “N.J. blogger charged with threats against Chicago judges.”

The Jersey Journal has a news update headlined “Hate blogger Hal Turner arrested for alleged threats to judges.”

Bloomberg News reports that “FBI Arrests Blogger for Allegedly Threatening Judges.”

The Associated Press reports that “Supremacist blogger accused of threatening judges.”

And at Wired.com’s “Threat Level” blog, David Kravets has a post titled “Blogger Threatened to Murder Judges, Feds Say.”

“Daughter of Va. Supreme Court chief justice convicted of shoplifting”: The Richmond Times-Dispatch has this news update.

“Fed appeals court revives Va. abortion law”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “A sharply divided federal appeals court upheld Virginia’s ban on a type of late-term abortion Wednesday, ruling that the statute does not unduly burden a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy by more conventional means.”

And at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times,” Mike Scarcella has a post titled “In 6-5 Ruling, 4th Circuit Upholds Virginia’s Ban on Partial-Birth Abortion.”

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

I reported on the Fourth Circuit’s grant of rehearing en banc in this post, which provides links to my earlier coverage of a divided three-judge panel’s ruling in this case.

“Appeals court punctures Seattle’s attempt to regulate balloon man; The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals put a pin in Seattle’s efforts to regulate balloon artist ‘Magic Mike’ Berger and other street performers at the Seattle Center, reversing an earlier decision to find that the center’s rules violate free speech”: The Seattle Times has this news update.

My earlier coverage of today’s en banc Ninth Circuit ruling appears at this link.

“Diaz countersues ex-U.S. attorney; Former state justice alleges charges brought against him were libelous”: This article appears today in The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Mississippi.

Tony Mauro is reporting: At “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times,” he has posts titled “Examining Sotomayor’s Record in Business Cases” and “Justice O’Connor Happy There Will be Another Woman on High Court.”

My earlier post reporting on Justice O’Connor’s late night television appearance yesterday can be found at this link.

Via YouTube, you can view Justice O’Connor’s entire appearance on last night’s broadcast of “Late Show with David Letterman” in two parts: part one and part two.

“Congressman calls for quick Senate action on Kent”: The Houston Chronicle has a news update that begins, “The House managers of the case against convicted U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent personally walked their impeachment case against him to the Senate this morning and urged members there to quickly convene a trial.”

And at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times,” David Ingram has a post titled “Senate Appoints Panel to Investigate Impeached Judge.”

Seattle street performer “Magic Mike” wins magical en banc Ninth Circuit victory: An eleven-judge en banc panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued this 108-page ruling today.

At issue in the case was the extent to which a City may restrict expression in a public forum. I previously had this post reporting on the original divided three-judge panel’s ruling against “Magic Mike” and this post reporting on the Ninth Circuit’s order granting rehearing en banc.

Update: The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has a report headlined “Court: Seattle Center limits on street performers are unconstitutional.”

“Senate accepts impeachment articles against judge”: The Associated Press has this report.

“Senate to receive Kent’s impeachment articles”: This article appears today in The Galveston County Daily News.

Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor is a guest on tonight’s broadcast of the CBS program “Late Show with David Letterman“: You can watch some of Justice O’Connor’s segment by clicking here. In that clip, Justice O’Connor explains how she learned to avoid the Justice Byron White vise-grip handshake.

Available online from law.com: Tony Mauro has an article headlined “Sotomayor, Word by Word; Supreme Court nominee’s dense writing style works through every detail.”

And in other news, “Restaurateurs Seek Supreme Court Review of San Francisco Health Insurance Mandate.”

“Prescription drug fight goes before appeals court”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “So-called data-mining companies that collect information about the drugs doctors prescribe asked an appeals court Tuesday to stop Vermont from enacting a law next week restricting their work.”

“Court Favors Parents in Battle Over Special-Education Tuition”: Robert Barnes and Nelson Hernandez have this article today in The Washington Post.

Today in The Los Angeles Times, David G. Savage has an article headlined “Supreme Court victory for parents of disabled students; Justices rule that parents who remove a disabled child from public school can be reimbursed for private instruction; The court says a ‘free, appropriate’ education is a public duty.”

The New York Times reports that “Court Affirms Reimbursement for Special Education.”

The Wall Street Journal reports that “Court Rules on Funding Special Ed.”

The Oregonian reports that “U.S. Supreme Court rules against Forest Grove School District in case involving ex-student with special needs.”

The Hillsboro (Ore.) Argus reports that “Supreme Court rules against Forest Grove School District By a 6-3 vote, court finds district must reimburse a private special education.”

Lastly, from National Public Radio, today’s broadcast of “Morning Edition” contained an audio segment entitled “Supreme Court Rules On Special Education Case.” And yesterday’s broadcast of “All Things Considered” contained an audio segment entitled “Justices Rule For Parents Of Special Ed Student.” RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments.

“Daughter Against Use of Father’s Name to Subvert Neo-Nazis”: Today’s edition of The New York Times contains an article that begins, “The daughter of a distinguished Jewish theologian said Monday that she opposed a plan to rename for him a stretch of Missouri highway that has been adopted by a group of neo-Nazis.”

“Conservatives Have ‘Originalism’; Liberals Have … ?” This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on this evening’s broadcast of NPR’s “All Things Considered.”

“City lawyer’s suit on torture memos gains momentum”: Yesterday’s edition of The New Haven Register contained an article that begins, “Last year, when lawyer Jonathan Freiman sued Bush administration officials over their policies on torture, there was a wave of criticism that he and the human rights clinic at the Yale Law School were out of line.”

In the July 2009 issue of ABA Journal magazine: David G. Savage will have an article headlined “Narrowing the Courthouse Door: High court makes it tougher to get past the pleading stage.”

And John Gibeaut will have an article headlined “The ‘Roach Motel’: As the DOJ’s disciplinary agency all but disappears, judges take matters into their own hands.”

“This suit has passed its sixth anniversary and should not be allowed to grow a beard.” So writes Seventh Circuit Chief Judge Frank H. Easterbrook in the second to last paragraph of this opinion issued today. The second sentence of that same paragraph demonstrates that Judge Easterbrook does not forgo using “forego” to mean “to do without.”

Update: A post from February 2007 at “the (new) legal writer” is titled “Don’t forego forgo Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day.”

“Okla bomber seeks lawyer for suit over prison food”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols is asking for a court-appointed lawyer to help him with a lawsuit complaining about the food he gets in prison.”

“Senate GOP: Will Sotomayor uphold Constitution?” The Associated Press has this report.

Today in The Boston Globe, Peter S. Canellos has an essay entitled “Obama’s unintended fusion in Sotomayor selection.”

Yesterday’s broadcast of NPR’s “Tell Me More” contained an audio segment entitled “Can Jeff Sessions Fairly Evaluate Sonia Sotomayor?” (RealPlayer required).

In this week’s issue of The National Law Journal, law professor Douglas W. Kmiec has an op-ed entitled “The ‘Latina woman’ comment: The rule of law depends upon the commitment to — even empathy for — giving meaning to equality in more than name alone.”

At “The Ninth Justice” blog of National Journal, Stuart Taylor Jr. has a lengthy post titled “The Case For — And Against — Double Standards.”

And at his “Think Again” blog hosted by The New York Times, law professor Stanley Fish has a post titled “What Kind of Judges Do We Want?”

Happy birthday to Justice Clarence Thomas! According to the popular “Today in History” feature from The Associated Press, Justice Thomas celebrates his 61st birthday today.

And 40 years ago today, “Warren E. Burger was sworn in as chief justice of the United States by the man he was succeeding, Earl Warren.”