“Prison holds promise for job-strapped town; Politicians can argue about detainee danger, but work is work”: Saturday’s edition of The Washington Post will contain an article that begins, “On the edge of a cornfield 150 miles from Chicago lies a prison, all but vacant, that could become the new Guantanamo.”

And The Kansas City Star has a news update headlined “Ashcroft says trying terrorists in federal court jeopardizes U.S. safety.”

“Ex-Smoker Wins Against Philip Morris”: Saturday’s edition of The New York Times will contain an article that begins, “Legal experts predict that thousands of tobacco lawsuits could gain momentum in Florida after a Fort Lauderdale jury ordered Philip Morris USA to pay $300 million to a former smoker who says she needs a lung transplant.”

“These Men Could Kill SarbOx: Two tenacious Washington lawyers have the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in their sights–and they just might take it down.” BusinessWeek posted this article online yesterday.

“Judge: Ciavarella, Conahan immune from civil suits for in-court actions.” The Citizen’s Voice of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania has a news update that begins, “A federal judge has ruled that former judges Michael T. Conahan and Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. are immune from damages in civil suits stemming from the kids-for-cash scandal for actions they took in court, but not for their out-of-court actions.”

And The Associated Press reports that “2 Pa. judges given partial immunity in civil suit.”

You can access today’s ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania at this link.

“$6M verdict upheld in McDonald’s strip search case”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, ” A Kentucky appeals court upheld a $6.1 million award to a former fast food worker who was forced to strip in a McDonald’s restaurant office after someone called posing as a police officer.”

And NBC affiliate WAVE 3 TV in Louisville, Kentucky reports that “Appeals court upholds $6 million award in McDonald’s strip search case.”

You can access today’s ruling of the Court of Appeals of Kentucky at this link.

“What the Law Commands”: At the “Opinionator” blog of The New York Times, Linda Greenhouse has a post that begins, “The ostensible topic of a recent argument before the Supreme Court was lawyering, but the real subject turned out to be judging. An exchange between Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and one of the lawyers was illuminating.”

In addition, Greenhouse has this recent law review article about Justice Stephen G. Breyer (via “SCOTUSblog“).

“Gay Marriage Gets Boost from Ninth Circuit”: law.com’s Dan Levine has a report that begins, “Not one to be left out of a constitutional thicket, Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals Chief Judge Alex Kozinski granted health benefits Thursday to the same-sex partners of court employees. Kozinski’s order comes a day after his colleague, Judge Stephen Reinhardt, issued his own published directive that a federal public defender be awarded back pay because his same-sex partner’s benefits had been denied.”

And today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article headlined “Give in on same-sex benefits, judge orders feds.”

The order that Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski issued yesterday can be accessed here.

Just in time for Thanksgiving — a federal appellate court considers whether chickens, turkeys and other domestic fowl are excluded from the humane slaughter provisions of the “Humane Methods of Slaughter Act of 1958“: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued this ruling today. Today’s decision fails to resolve that question, holding instead that the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue.

“We are again faced with the question whether a state statutory scheme requiring growers to fund generic advertising for promotion of an agricultural product violates the First Amendment.” So begins a ruling that a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued today. Table grapes are today’s First Amendment food item. As for the court’s holding, today’s majority opinion concludes, “The district court did not err in granting summary judgment to the Table Grape Commission on the ground that its promotional activities constitute government speech and are thus immune to challenge under the First Amendment.”

“Wesley Snipes appeals 3 tax convictions in Georgia”: The Associated Press now has this updated report on today’s oral argument before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

“Racism alleged in Wall Street Journal editorial on Butler”: Today’s edition of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contains an article that begins, “A state senator, a former state Supreme Court justice and a Wisconsin lawyer accused The Wall Street Journal of racism Thursday for referring to an African-American judicial nominee as ‘the White House Butler.'”

The editorial that The Wall Street Journal published yesterday carried the headline “The White House Butler: A judge twice rejected by voters is nominated by President Obama.”

Take the “PACER Online Satisfaction Survey”: You can access the survey by clicking here.

“The question then is whether the Michigan Legislature can constitutionally provide that a felon who possesses a firearm shall be convicted of and punished for violating two criminal statutes: felon in possession of a firearm, and possession of a firearm while being a felon in possession of a firearm.” Today, a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued this decision, which fans of the U.S. Constitution’s double jeopardy clause are likely to find quite interesting.

“Wesley Snipes appeals 3 tax convictions in Georgia”: The Associated Press is reporting that a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit is scheduled to hear oral argument today in Atlanta of Wesley Snipes’ appeal from his convictions on charges of failing to file tax returns.

“Hoosier judge OK’d with boost by Lugar”: The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne, Indiana contains this article today, along with an editorial entitled “Hamilton qualified to judge.”

The Indianapolis Star reports today that “Hamilton is confirmed for seat on appeals court.”

And Thomas Ferraro of Reuters reports that “Senate confirms long-stalled Obama judicial pick.”

“In New Orleans, Elation Over Katrina Liability Ruling”: This article, in which I am quoted, appears today in The New York Times.

The Associated Press reports that “Katrina ruling could bring new deluge of lawsuits.”

And yesterday, The Times-Picayune of New Orleans reported that “Corps’ operation of MR-GO doomed homes in St. Bernard, Lower 9th Ward, judge rules.” You can access Wednesday’s ruling at this link.