“Broken-Nosed Fan Assumed Injury Risk During Pregame Warm-Up, N.Y. Judge Finds”: law.com has an article that begins, “Every baseball fan — or at least every attorney who follows baseball — knows that under the doctrine of assumption of the risk a team is not liable for fans injured by, say, foul balls or broken bats.” You can access the court’s ruling at this link.

“Justice Stevens Hires Just One Clerk for 2010 Term”: Robert Barnes will have this article Thursday in The Washington Post.

And at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times,” Tony Mauro has a post titled “Justice Stevens: Exiting Next Year?”

The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined “Federal judge orders MLB drug evidence preserved” and “3 states still ban religious clothing for teachers.”

Akron Aeros 9, Altoona Curve 6: Just back from beautiful Blair County Ballpark — one of the nicest minor league ballparks that we’ve ever visited, and we’ve visited a bunch — where tonight the class AA Eastern League affiliate of the Cleveland Indians defeated the class AA Eastern League affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. You can access the box score at this link, a recap of the game at this link, and an article about the game at this link.

Unfortunately, the amusement park next to the stadium was closed today, so we didn’t get to ride the rollercoaster that overlooks the right field fence.

Tomorrow, we travel to Niles, Ohio, where tomorrow night we will watch the Mahoning Valley Scrappers (the class A short-season affiliate of the Cleveland Indians) host the Jamestown Jammers (the class A short-season affiliate of the Florida Marlins) in New York-Penn League action. Thanks to rainouts last weekend in Jamestown, New York when these two teams were scheduled to play, tomorrow night’s game has been turned into a doubleheader consisting of two seven-inning games.

Update: Thursday’s edition of The Altoona Mirror reports that “‘Consistent’ Aeros erupt against Curve.” And Thursday’s edition of The Akron Beacon Journal reports that “Rivero and Rodriguez tee off on Altoona pitchers for win.”

Where the parties to a lawsuit reach a post-verdict settlement after a jury has awarded punitive damages on a claim governed by Oregon law, must the State of Oregon’s consent to the settlement be obtained before the court can approve the settlement? Today, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit certified that question of Oregon law for resolution by the Supreme Court of Oregon. You can access today’s Ninth Circuit order at this link.

The question arises because, under Oregon law, the State of Oregon is entitled to recover sixty percent of any punitive damages awarded under Oregon law, even if the lawsuit involves only private (non-governmental) parties.

“In Staff Move by Justice Stevens, Some See Signal”: In Thursday’s edition of The New York Times, Adam Liptak will have an article that begins, “Justice John Paul Stevens has so far hired just one law clerk for the Supreme Court term starting in October 2010, a court spokeswoman confirmed on Wednesday. That may be an indication that Justice Stevens, 89, is considering retiring next year.”

“Feds ask appeals court to stay drug decision”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “Arguing the evidence may be destroyed, federal prosecutors have asked an appeals court to stay its decision that government agents illegally seized drug testing records and samples of more than 100 baseball players.”

“Justice Stevens slows his hiring at high court”: Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has an article that begins, “Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens has hired fewer law clerks than usual, generating speculation that the leader of the court’s liberals will retire next year.”

“State wants to appeal prison-crowding order to U.S. high court”: Denny Walsh has this front page article today in The Sacramento Bee.

The Los Angeles Times reports today that “Schwarzenegger asks for more time for a plan to cut prison overcrowding; California has until Sept. 18 to reduce its number of inmates; The governor says he will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court if his request isn’t granted by a panel of federal judges.”

And The Associated Press reports that “Calif. seeks stay of inmate-release court order.”

“Californians’ support for death penalty waning; A survey shows public support has dropped from 79% to 66%, as fears of executing the wrongly convicted escalate”: Carol J. Williams has this article today in The Los Angeles Times.

“C.I.A. Resists Disclosure of Records on Detention”: This article appears today in The New York Times.