“R.I. child custody case spawns free-speech issue”: This article appears today in The Providence Journal.

And The Associated Press reports that “ACLU fights RI judge’s ban on Facebook comments.”

You can access at this link the press release that the Rhode Island ACLU issued yesterday about the matter.

Happy birthday to Justice Anthony M. Kennedy: According to today’s installment of the popular “Today in History” feature from The Associated Press, Justice Kennedy turns 73 years old today.

“State cleared to clamp down on nude beaches”: Yesterday in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko had an article that begins, “Keep that towel handy. California parks officials can enforce a ban on nudity at any state beach, even in areas that have been informally designated as ‘clothing optional,’ a state appeals court says.”

You can access last Friday’s ruling of the California Court of Appeal for the Fourth Appellate District, Division Three, at this link.

“GOP’s Lindsey Graham says he’ll vote ‘yes’ on Sotomayor”: David Lightman of McClatchy Newspapers has this report.

The Miami Herald reports today that “Gov. Charlie Crist says he opposes Sonia Sotomayor; After avoiding the question for weeks, Gov. Charlie Crist, who is running for the Senate, said he opposes the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.”

And today in The Washington Post, Dana Milbank’s “Washington Sketch” column is headlined “Why Do Today What Can Be Put Off for a Week?”

“For Holder, Inquiry on Interrogation Poses Tough Choice”: Today’s edition of The New York Times contains a news analysis that begins, “As the attorney general, Eric H. Holder Jr., debates whether to appoint a criminal prosecutor to investigate the interrogations of terrorism suspects after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, he is at the brink of a career-defining decision that risks the anger of the White House and the Central Intelligence Agency, one of the Justice Department’s main partners in combating terrorism.”

“Ten Commandments removed from Jackson Co. courthouse”: This article appears today in The Lexington Herald-Leader.

And The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Kentucky reports today that “Jackson Co. officials remove Ten Commandments displays from courthouse.”

“The Bush Judicial Legacy, By the Numbers”: Tony Mauro has this post today at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”

“Minors in R.I. can be strippers”: This article appeared online yesterday at the web site of The Providence Journal.

“Author of Torture Memos Pranked in Classroom”: Kim Zetter has this post at Wired.com’s “Threat Level” blog.

“Court upholds Grand Canyon’s river management plan”: The Associated Press has this report about a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued yesterday.

“[T]he law was sufficiently clear to inform a reasonable officer that it was unlawful to Taser a nonviolent, suspected misdemeanant who was not fleeing or resisting arrest, who posed little to no threat to anyone’s safety, and whose only noncompliance with the officer’s commands was to disobey two orders to end her phone call to a 911 operator”: So holds the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in a ruling issued today.

Second Circuit holds that computer hacking may be “deceptive” under Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act where the hacker obtains material, nonpublic information used to trade securities: Today’s ruling rejects the district court’s reasoning that a breach of a fiduciary duty is necessary for an actionable securities claim under Section 10(b).

Instead, today’s ruling holds that a breach of a fiduciary or similar duty is not necessary, and that some forms of computer hacking by non-fiduciaries are plainly “deceptive” under Section 10(b), irrespective of a breach of duty.

“Va. Special Session Called to Address Testimony Ruling”: The Washington Post has a news update that begins, “Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) announced Wednesday morning that he is convening a special session of the General Assembly to respond a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that prosecutors say will lead to more dismissed cases, and has already resulted in some drunk driving cases being thrown out.”

“GOP Sen. Graham to support Sotomayor”: The Associated Press has this report.

“Controversial Sanctions Ruling Now in 3rd Circuit’s Hands”: Shannon P. Duffy has this article today in The Legal Intelligencer.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit now makes audio of its oral arguments available for online download, and you can access the oral argument of this appeal in two parts: part one (84.4MB Windows Media file) and part two (15.8MB Windows Media file).

“Sen. Kyl, No. 2 Republican, to oppose Sotomayor”: The Associated Press has this report.

“The Sotomayor Nomination”: This editorial appears today in The New York Times.

“The Day Obscenity Became Art”: Today in The New York Times, Fred Kaplan has an op-ed that begins, “Today is the 50th anniversary of the court ruling that overturned America’s obscenity laws, setting off an explosion of free speech — and also, in retrospect, splashing cold water on the idea, much discussed during Sonia Sotomayor’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings, that judges are ‘umpires’ rather than agents of social change.”

“Old World: Why isn’t Obama appointing young judges to the circuit courts?” Law professors David Fontana and Micah Schwartzman have this essay online at The New Republic.

“Pa. Supreme Court upholds state prisons’ ban on pornography”: The Associated Press has this report on a ruling that the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania issued yesterday.

“Cooke’s conviction overturned”: The News Journal of Wilmington, Delaware has an update that begins, “A divided Delaware Supreme Court today overturned the conviction and death sentence of James E. Cooke Jr. in the 2005 murder of Lindsey M. Bonistall.”

And The Associated Press reports that “Del. court overturns death penalty conviction.”

You can access today’s 3-2 ruling of the Supreme Court of Delaware at this link.

“Texas court asserts protections for online reporter”: Douglas Lee has this commentary online at the First Amendment Center.

Available online from law.com: An article is headlined “Questioning Sotomayor Without a License: Six senators on the Judiciary Committee don’t have law degrees; How did they prepare for the hearing?”

And in other news, “‘Rule of Necessity’ Could Be Invoked in N.Y. Judicial Pay Suits.”

“Judicial Bias Case Heads Back to West Virginia Court”: At “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times,” Marcia Coyle has a post that begins, “The West Virginia Supreme Court in September will take its third look at the appeal of a $50 million-jury verdict which led to a key U.S. Supreme Court ruling last month on judicial bias.”

And speaking of heading back to West Virginia, it now appears that I’ll be in Huntington, West Virginia this September during Constitution Week to participate in a panel discussion about blogging and the First Amendment to be hosted by Chief Justice Brent D. Benjamin of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.

“Ohio killer’s lethal injection marks 1,000th in US”: The Associated Press has this report.

“Is there a women’s view on top court?” Today in The Globe and Mail of Toronto, Kirk Makin has an article that begins, “Women are making a dramatic difference to the Supreme Court of Canada, concludes a new book that analyzed the past 40 years of the court and its jurisprudence.”

The book on which the article reports is “The Transformation of the Supreme Court of Canada: An Empirical Examination,” by Donald R. Songer.

Julie Hirschfeld Davis of The Associated Press is reporting: She has articles headlined “Panel delays Sotomayor vote as GOP support grows” and “Abortion rights group endorses Sotomayor for court.”

Programming note: This morning, I will be presenting oral argument before a three-judge panel of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania in a matter that involves fourteen consolidated appeals. I previously filed this Brief for Appellants in connection with those appeals. The cases have previously received some press coverage. See “Judge Asks Pa. Appeals Court to Uphold Dismissal of Consolidated HRT Cases“; “Pa. Judge Denies Another Breast Cancer-HRT Claim“; and “HRT Patient’s Personal Injury Claim Found to Be Time-Barred” (all freely available via law.com).

Additional posts will appear here this afternoon.

“Sleeper Decision Could Have Impact on Litigation”: Tuesday in The New York Times, Adam Liptak will have this new installment of his “Sidebar” column.

“Yawner for some, Sotomayor hearings explored big issues”: David Lightman of McClatchy Newspapers has this report.

Today in USA Today, Joan Biskupic reports that “Many legal issues left out of hearings; There was much that senators never bothered to ask Sotomayor.” In addition, Kathy Kiely has an article headlined “Nominee: Put high court on TV; She says cameras in the courtroom are a ‘positive.’”

And in The Washington Post, Howard Kurtz’s “Media Notes” column is headlined “Sotomayor: Headline Snooze; No-Drama Hearings Leave Press Listless.”

“GOP, divided on Sotomayor, won’t drag out debate”: The Associated Press has this report.

“September Argument Debut for SG Kagan”: Tony Mauro has this post at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”

“Answers to Questions: What Supreme Court Justices really do.” Jeffrey Toobin has this comment in the July 27, 2009 issue of The New Yorker.

“Might it happen? Slaughterhouse overruled?” Lyle Denniston has this post at “SCOTUSblog.”

“Chief justice’s husband charged at alcohol party”: This article appeared last Friday in The Des Moines Register.