“In Possible Retirement, the Likelihood of an Election-Year Confrontation”: Friday’s edition of The New York Times will contain an article that begins, “No announcement has been made, but the widely anticipated retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens in coming weeks has the White House, Senate and lobbying groups bracing for an election-year confrontation over the future of the Supreme Court.”

“Mixed verdict for Phillies fan in sex-for-tix trial”: The Philadelphia Inquirer has this news update.

The Philadelphia Daily News has an update headlined “Sex-for-tix woman gets mixed verdict.”

And The Associated Press has a report headlined “Mixed verdict for woman in sex-for-tickets case.”

“State Supreme Court upholds LAX ban on Hare Krishna fundraising”: Maura Dolan of The Los Angeles Times has this blog post.

The Christian Science Monitor reports that “Court upholds ban on Hare Krishna soliciting in LAX airport; The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that an LAX airport ban on solicitation in its terminals — challenged by a Hare Krishna group — is legal; It’s the latest legal setback for the group.”

And The Associated Press has a report headlined “Court: Hare Krishnas Barred From LAX Solicitation.”

You can access today’s ruling of the Supreme Court of California at this link.

“Strip club ‘pole tax’ in hands of Texas high court”: The Associated Press has this report on a case argued today before the Supreme Court of Texas.

You can view the video of today’s oral argument on demand by clicking here.

James C. Ho, in his capacity as Solicitor General of Texas, argued the case for the State.

“D.C. Circuit to Seal Courtroom in Special Ed Case”: Jordan Weissmann has this post at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”

“GOP warns Obama against labor board appointment”: The Associated Press has this report.

Majority on divided three-judge Eighth Circuit panel holds that state-law convictions involving a fake controlled substance do not count as strikes under a federal law that requires a life sentence for recidivist offenders: The home page for the web site MLB.com (which once belonged to the law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius) reminds us that opening day for Major League Baseball is now just a little more than ten days and four hours away.

Thus, the definition what constitutes a strike will again become a subject of great interest. Today, for purposes of a federal law that mandates a life sentence for recidivist felony drug offenders, the Eighth Circuit had to decide whether state-law convictions involving fake controlled substances should count toward the requisite number of convictions necessary to produce a life sentence. By a vote of 2-1, the Court ruled “no” in a decision that you can access here.

“Judge could be Supreme Court contender”: Joan Biskupic had this article yesterday in USA Today.

“Appeals court upholds NY forced labor conviction”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “A federal appeals court has upheld the forced-labor convictions of a Long Island couple sentenced to prison for enslaving two Indonesian housekeepers.”

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

Should someone who is arrested for drunk driving, then taken immediately to jail, where a search reveals a small bag of methamphetamine taped to his sock, be subject to a sentencing enhancement for possessing a controlled substance in a jail or prison? By a vote of 5-4, the Washington State Supreme Court answered “no” in a ruling issued today. The ruling consists of a majority opinion and a dissenting opinion.

“Is Los Angeles International Airport a public forum under the Liberty of Speech Clause of the California Constitution?” The Supreme Court of California is scheduled to rule on that issue today in a case captioned International Society for Krishna Consciousness of California, Inc. v. City of Los Angeles. The court’s ruling should be available via this link at 1 p.m. eastern time, 10 a.m. pacific time, today.

“Pentagon prepares to relax enforcement of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell'”: This article appears today in The Washington Post.

And The New York Times reports today that “Military to Revise ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Rules.”

“The Curious Case Of Goodwin Liu”: Marc Ambinder has this blog post at The Atlantic.

“Court Weighs Timing of Death Row Appeal”: Adam Liptak has this article today in The New York Times.

“Supreme Court stops execution of convicted killer in Texas; The justices want more time to study Hank Skinner’s appeal for DNA testing of evidence from a triple homicide; The stay is issued an hour before he was to die”: David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times.

The Houston Chronicle reports today that “U.S. Supreme Court delays Texas execution.”

The Associated Press reports that “Execution halted for Texas man claiming innocence.”

CNN.com reports that “High court gives last-minute stay to condemned Texan.”

And at “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston has a post titled “Execution delayed in DNA case; Potential sequel to Osborne.”

You can access yesterday evening’s stay order of the U.S. Supreme Court at this link.

“For two detainees who told what they knew, Guantanamo becomes a gilded cage”: The Washington Post contains this article today.

And today’s edition of The Los Angeles Times contains an article headlined “Obama backtracking on detainee rights, critics say; Human rights activists object to a focus on overseas prisons and arrests without trials; Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham is weighing in.”

“Prosecutors Gone Wild”: This editorial about a recent Third Circuit ruling appears today in The New York Times.

“Sex-for-tickets case expected to conclude today”: Today’s edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer contains an article that begins, “With opening day just 11 days off, Phillies fans are no doubt revisiting the indelible memories of the 2009 league championship season.”

The Philadelphia Daily News reports today that “Blonde in sex-for-tix case offered 3-way, cop says.”

And The Bucks County Courier Times reports that “Police lead off in sex-for-tickets case.”

“Hearing for Controversial Court Nominee Postponed Amid Fight Over Health Care”: FOXNews.com has this report.

And The Hill has a news update headlined “Senate Republicans block committee hearings again.”

“A Hearing to Define ‘Mainstream’ Judicial Views”: Tom Goldstein of “SCOTUSblog” has this commentary at “The Huffington Post.”

And at The Daily Caller, Ilya Shapiro and Evan Turgeon have an essay entitled “Do you have a right to health care? Judicial nominee Liu thinks so.”

“Unsound and Unfit: Goodwin Liu is President Obama’s worst judicial nominee . . . so far.” Edward Whelan has this essay today at National Review Online.

“Hearing for 9th Circuit Nominee on Hold”: At “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times,” David Ingram has a post that begins, “The Senate Judiciary Committee has suspended a highly anticipated confirmation hearing for Goodwin Liu, nominated for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, because of a little-used rule that constrains when Senate committees may meet.”

And Senator Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has issued a news release headlined “Republican Objections Now Stall Even Committee Progress.”

“Presumed Innocent? Obama’s lawyers were smeared–but guess what, so were Bush’s.” Benjamin Wittes has this essay online at The New Republic.

“Labor Decisions at Risk as Justices Struggle With NLRB Authority”: Marcia Coyle of The National Law Journal has this report.

“Breyer and Scalia Take Their Road Show Inside”: Tony Mauro has this post at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”

“Breyer, Scalia explain why they often disagree”: Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report.

“5-3=3: A case tests the arithmetical skills of the Supreme Court justices.” Dahlia Lithwick has this Supreme Court dispatch online at Slate.

“Obama court nominee faces contentious hearing; Goodwin Liu, a UC Berkeley professor nominated as an appeals court judge, is criticized by Republicans as a liberal ‘beyond the mainstream'”: In Wednesday’s edition of The Los Angeles Times, James Oliphant will have an article that begins, “Senate Republicans are preparing to mount an assault against one of President Obama’s federal appeals court choices, offering a preview of a possible Supreme Court fight later this summer. Goodwin Liu, the president’s pick for to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, is expected to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday in what promises to be a contentious hearing.”

You can view the notice of tomorrow’s hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee by clicking here. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. eastern time.

“Court hears ‘Fatal Vision’ appeal after 40 years”: The Associated Press has this report on an appeal argued today before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

“Court to decide whether two-member NLRB can work”: Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press has this report.

You can access the transcript of today’s U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in New Process Steel, L.P. v. NLRB, No. 08-1457, at this link.

Judge Posner on the standard of appellate review for a trial court’s decision applying law to the facts of a particular case: Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner issued this opinion today on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

“State high court overturns state’s tort reform”: Today in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Bill Rankin has an article that begins, “A unanimous Georgia Supreme Court on Monday struck down limits on jury awards in medical malpractice cases, the cornerstone of the state’s sweeping 2005 tort reform law.”

And Alyson M. Palmer of the Fulton County Daily Report has an article headlined “Ga. Supreme Court Kills Caps on Med-Mal Awards; Justices rule unanimously that right to jury trial trumps limits on pain and suffering awards.”

You can access yesterday’s ruling of the Supreme Court of Georgia at this link.

“Appeal denied for former attorney”: Last Thursday’s edition of The San Antonio Express-News contained an article that begins, “The 4th Court of Appeals declined Wednesday to overturn the conviction of a former San Antonio lawyer accused of aiding her husband in extortion plots against four of her extramarital lovers.”

And Mary Alice Robbins of Texas Lawyer reports that “Texas Appeals Court Upholds Solo’s Conviction Over Sex Shakedowns.”

You can access last Wednesday’s ruling of the Fourth Court of Appeals of Texas at this link.

“Health Measure’s Opponents Plan Legal Challenges”: John Schwartz has this article today in The New York Times.

And today’s broadcast of NPR’s “Morning Edition” contained an audio segment entitled “Opponents Work To Block Health Bill At State Level” featuring Nina Totenberg.

Access online today’s opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court in an argued case: Justice Clarence Thomas delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court in United States Aid Funds, Inc. v. Espinosa, No. 08-1134. You can access the oral argument transcript at this link.