“Senate confirms Thompson for federal bench”: Today’s edition of The Providence Journal contains an article that begins, “The Senate voted unanimously Wednesday to seat Rhode Island Superior Court Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit.”

“9th Circuit won’t rehear lawsuit against Ashcroft”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “A federal appellate court says it won’t reconsider its ruling that former Attorney General John Ashcroft can be held personally responsible for misuse of the material witness statute after the Sept. 11 attacks.”

You can access today’s order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denying rehearing en banc, and the opinions concurring in and dissenting from that order, at this link. A total of eight judges noted their dissent from the court’s denial of rehearing en banc.

Update: Carol J. Williams of The Los Angeles Times has a blog post titled “Appeals court lets stand decision that Ashcroft can be sued.”

“Spotlight On Potential High Court Nominee”: Today in The Daily Journal of California, Lawrence Hurley has an article that begins, “A case the U.S. Supreme Court has taken up over a Christian group’s challenge to UC Hastings College of the Law’s nondiscrimination policy for student groups could end up influencing the political debate over a possible vacancy on the court this summer. In many ways, the case puts 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Diane P. Wood, one of the leading contenders for the eventual opening, in the same position that then-2nd Circuit Judge Sonia Sotomayor was in last year over her role in a case before the court last term.”

“Taxing Punitive Damages”: Law professors Gregg D. Polsky and Dan Markel have posted this article online at SSRN (via “Legal Theory Blog“).

“Supreme Court Unveils New Web Site Design”: Tony Mauro has this post at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”

You can access the U.S. Supreme Court’s redesigned web site by clicking here.

Among other changes, and in an effort to assert universal judicial supremacy, the “http” address for the Court’s web site will be dropping the “us” and thus will henceforth be www.supremecourt.gov. A press release that the Court’s Public Information Office issued today can be accessed here.

“A win for plaintiff in ‘sexting’ case”: The Times Leader of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania contains this article today.

The Times-Tribune of Scranton, Pennsylvania reports today that “Federal appeals court bars prosecutor from pursuing charges in teen sexting case.”

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that “Court averts free-speech issue on ‘sexting.’”

The New York Times reports that “Court Says Parents Can Block ‘Sexting’ Cases.”

Shannon P. Duffy of The Legal Intelligencer reports that “3rd Circuit Bars Prosecution Threat for Teen ‘Sexting’; Panel also found former DA had violated parents’ rights by usurping their roles.”

And in related news, The Pottsville Republican Herald reports that “Teens convicted of ‘sexting’ could have records expunged.”

My earlier coverage of yesterday’s Third Circuit ruling appears at this link.

“Bill Eases Penalty For Crack Cocaine Possession”: This audio segment appeared on today’s broadcast of NPR’s “Morning Edition.”

“Relax, Legal Scholars: Bobbleheads Are Safe at Yale.” Adam Liptak will have this article Thursday in The New York Times.

“Court declines to decide if sexting is pornography”: The Philadelphia Inquirer has a news update that begins, “A federal appeals court in will not decide whether ‘sexting’ is pornography in the case of three Pennsylvania teenagers facing criminal charges for appearing in cell phone photographs partly clothed.”

My earlier coverage of today’s Third Circuit ruling appears at this link.

“Obama taps NPR reporter’s sister for federal bench”: The Associated Press has this report. Only time will tell whether this nomination will cause Nina Totenberg to vote in favor of the health care bill.

And in local coverage, Bill Rankin of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a news update headlined “Amy Totenberg nominated to be federal judge.”

“Senate sends R.I.’s Thompson to appeals court”: The Providence Journal has a news update that begins, “The Senate voted unanimously Wednesday to seat Rhode Island Superior court Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit. On a vote of 98 to 0, the Senate confirmed President Obama’s nomination of Thompson to the traditional ‘Rhode Island seat” on the Boston-based federal appeals court.”

“Threatening posts not protected free speech”: Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article that begins, “A state appeals court says a 15-year-old boy whose Web site was flooded with anti-gay slurs and threats can sue a schoolmate who admitted posting a menacing message but described it as a joke. In a 2-1 ruling Monday, the Second District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles said the violent language of the message — threatening to ‘rip out your … heart and feed it to you’ and to ‘pound your head in with an ice pick’ — conveyed a harmful intent that is not protected by the right of free speech.”

And Carol J. Williams of The Los Angeles Times has a blog post titled “Private school students’ gay-bashing not free speech, court rules.”

You can access Monday’s ruling of California’s Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District, Division One, at this link.

“Court: Pa. DA can’t bring ‘sexting’ charges.” The Associated Press has a report that begins, “A federal appeals court has ruled that a Pennsylvania prosecutor may not pursue felony charges against a teenage girl in a ‘sexting’ case. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday in a criminal case involving the pervasive problem in which teens exchange sexually explicit photos and e-mails on their cell phones.”

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

Available online at Slate: Dahlia Lithwick has a jurisprudence essay entitled “Cross Talk: The unfathomable Supreme Court penchant for talking politics.”

And at “Double X,” Emily Bazelon has an essay entitled “Tea Party at the Supreme Court: Ginni Thomas turns questions about her activism to her advantage.”

“Study Shows Money Flooding into Campaigns for State Judgeships; Justices Ginsburg, O’Connor Say Fundraising Could Corrupt System, Reform is Needed”: ABCNews.com has this report.

“States’ Rights Is Rallying Cry of Resistance for Lawmakers”: This front page article appears today in The New York Times.

“Senate Girds for Next Court Fight”: Today’s issue of Roll Call contains an article that begins, “A second Supreme Court confirmation fight during this Congress is all but certain to bring the Senate to a virtual standstill. But Senators in both parties don’t appear to be cowering from the fight; rather, they seem to be encouraging it.”

“Hard economic times hit jury box”: CNN.com has this report.

“Appeals court upholds conviction in Miss. killings”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “A federal appeals court has upheld the 2007 conviction of a reputed Ku Klux Klan member in the kidnapping of two black men who were abducted and killed in rural Mississippi in 1964. In a 2-1 ruling, the panel of judges said the evidence in the case against James Ford Seale was sufficient for the jury conviction in the trial that took place 43 years after the crimes. Friday’s decision came from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans. The judge who dissented said that too much time had elapsed to try Seale and that incriminating statements Seale made should have been barred from his trial.”

The Fifth Circuit issued the ruling on Friday and posted it online today.

“Virginia Thomas’ Ethics Check”: Tony Mauro has this post at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”

“Judiciary Approves PACER Innovations To Enhance Public Access”: The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts issued this news release today.

“Obama nominee Goodwin Liu an unassuming man”: Bob Egelko has this front page article today in The San Francisco Chronicle.

“Christian Group Joins Campaign on Pleading Standard”: At “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times,” David Ingram has a post that begins, “The conservative Alliance Defense Fund is lining up in opposition to a pair of U.S. Supreme Court decisions that changed the standard for filing most civil lawsuits — a move that aligns the Christian litigation group with some unlikely allies.”

“Democratic Freshmen Take Up Fight Over Obama’s Stalled Nominees”: Roll Call has this news update.

“Citizens Unite: The Constitutional amendment America needs.” Law professor Lawrence Lessig has this essay online at The New Republic.

“House plan to pass health care raises constitutional questions”: David Lightman of McClatchy Newspapers has this report.

And yesterday in The Wall Street Journal, law professor Michael W. McConnell had an op-ed entitled “The House Health-Care Vote and the Constitution: No bill can become law unless the exact same text is approved by a majority of both houses of Congress.” You can freely access the full text of the op-ed via Google News.

“Full 1st Circuit Rules Prospectus Statements Are Not Attributable to Executives for 10(b)(5) Purposes”: Sheri Qualters of The National Law Journal has this report on an en banc ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued last week.

“Ga. Supreme Court rebuffs sex offender registry challenge”: Today in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Bill Rankin has an article that begins, “The Georgia Supreme Court has upheld a provision of the state’s sex offender registry law that requires some people who have not committed sex crimes to register as sex offenders. The law, said to be one of the toughest in the nation, allows the state to keep a tight leash on child molesters, rapists and other sexual predators after they have served their prison time.”

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

“Appeals court upholds $20,000 in sanctions against birther movement attorney Orly Taitz; Birther movement attorney has insisted she won’t pay sanctions levied by Judge Land”: The Ledger-Enquirer of Columbus, Georgia contains this article today.

“Supreme Court Justice’s Wife Embraces Tea Party”: This audio segment featuring Nina Totenberg appeared on today’s broadcast of NPR’s “Morning Edition.”

“Georgia Supreme Court rejects local tort reform challenge in 4-3 ruling; Case arose from Columbus woman’s 2007 trip to St. Francis emergency room”: The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer contains this article today.

And today in the Fulton County Daily Report, Alyson M. Palmer has an article headlined “In Win for Tort Reform Advocates, Ga. Supreme Court Upholds ER Med-Mal Standard; Justices also upheld a fee-shifting rule; the court is expected to rule later this month on a challenge to caps on noneconomic damages in med-mal cases.”

My earlier coverage of the emergency room ruling appears at this link.

“How High Court Could Change If Stevens Retires”: This audio segment featuring Jeffrey Toobin appeared on yesterday’s broadcast of the public radio program “Fresh Air.”

“Wife of justice Thomas starts group for ‘citizen activists'”: Robert Barnes and Dan Eggen will have this article Tuesday in The Washington Post.

“Supreme Court riven by partisan politics”: CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin has this commentary at CNN.com.

“Military Tribunal Brings Knots, Too”: Today in The Wall Street Journal, Jess Bravin has an article that begins, “The Obama administration is leaning toward a military tribunal for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, but reversing course from a civilian trial would bring its own complications, because the long-troubled military commission system has yet to resolve fundamental questions and remains under legal challenge.”