Third Circuit decides appeal challenging the constitutionality of Pittsburgh ordinance regulating protests and confrontations at health care facilities providing abortions: You can access today’s lengthy ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit at this link.

“Congress Set to Take Aim at Judicial Recusals; House Judiciary Committee’s interest marks the first time Congress has flirted with recusal guidelines since a 2004 scrap between congressional Democrats and Justice Scalia”: law.com has this report.

“Both sides claim victory with al-Marri sentencing; Terror agent’s brother reacts with disappointment”: This article appears today in The Peoria Journal Star, along with an article headlined “Al-Marri ‘very happy’ with 8-year sentence; Sleeper agent could get out of prison in about five years.”

And in today’s edition of The New York Times, John Schwartz reports that “Admitted Qaeda Agent Receives Prison Sentence.”

“Racy pics stir penalty, ACLU”: This past Wednesday’s edition of The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne, Indiana contained an article that begins, “The American Civil Liberties Union has sued Smith-Green Community School Corp. and a principal in federal court on behalf of two girls punished for summer postings on MySpace.”

And The Associated Press reports that “School sued for punishing teens over MySpace pix.”

“US Supreme Court case to test funds’ fee structure”: Ross Kerber and James Vicini of Reuters have this report.

“US: Mass. can’t force gay marriage benefits.” The Associated Press has a report that begins, “States that allow gay marriage can’t force the federal government to provide benefits to those couples, the Obama administration argued Friday in court papers in a lawsuit by Massachusetts.”

“Senate, White House agree on reporter protections”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “Senate supporters of a bill protecting a reporter’s right to protect confidential sources in federal court said Friday they’ve reached a compromise with the Obama administration and media groups that gives the government authority to override those rights in certain national security cases.”

Second Circuit, over the dissent of four judges, denies rehearing en banc in case involving a doctor’s application for discharge from the Army as a conscientious objector: You can access today’s order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit denying rehearing en banc, together with opinions concurring in and dissenting from that order, at this link.

The original three-judge panel’s ruling, which I noted in this post on the day it issued, can be accessed here.

For those interested in the “in banc” versus “en banc” controversy in which the Second Circuit sometimes finds itself embroiled, it is interesting to note that the judges’ opinions correctly refer to rehearing “en banc,” while the Clerk of Court’s order officially denying full-court review still uses the now-abandoned “in banc.”

“Fees Case Strikes at Heart of Mutual Funds; Supreme Court to Weigh How Much Money-Management Firms Can Charge; Defining Fiduciary Duty”: Jess Bravin and Jane J. Kim have this article today in The Wall Street Journal.

And today’s edition of USA Today reports that “Fees land mutual funds in top court; Justices to consider whether industry is fair to individuals.”

“Top court race drips with mud”: This article appears today in The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. In addition, columnist Salena Zito has an op-ed entitled “Judging gender’s impact.”

And today’s edition of The Times Leader of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania contains an article headlined “GOP sees Panella linked to scandal; Democrats brush off the claim as a candidate’s last-minute political posturing.”

“Monsanto asks Supreme Court to review alfalfa ban”: Today’s edition of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch contains an article that begins, “Monsanto Co. asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a lower court’s decision to ban the planting of genetically modified alfalfa until an environmental review is complete.”

“Kansas Supreme Court hears arguments about caps on damages awarded to patient; Case against Lawrence physician attracting great deal of attention”: This article appears today in The Lawrence Journal-World.

“Judge robbed twice in 3 days; 2 men arrested in home invasions”: Today’s edition of The Columbus Dispatch contains an article that begins, “Former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Craig Wright was the victim of two separate home-invasion robberies in Whitehall last week, police said.”

“11th Circuit Obscenity Case Tests Community Standards on the Internet; Prosecutors have described the films at issue in the case as ‘sadistic, masochistic and violent'”: Alyson M. Palmer has this article today in the Fulton County Daily Report.

And online at Reason, Greg Beato has an essay entitled “In Defense of Extreme Pornography: Why Janet Romano and Rob Zicari have no business being in federal prison.”