“Axelrod: Stevens’ legacy influencing Obama’s pick.” The Associated Press has this report.

“‘Most-hated,’ anti-gay preacher once fought for civil rights”: CNN.com has this report.

“Judge who struck down Day of Prayer in spotlight”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “Since U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb ruled the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional, critics have declared what they think of her: A Marxist. A moron. A disgrace.”

“Justice Stevens: push for nominees’ views improper.” The Associated Press has this report.

“Supreme Court Upholds Freedom Of Speech In Obscenity-Filled Ruling”: This article appears online at The Onion (via “The Volokh Conspiracy“).

“Ex-Clerks Are Potent Lobbyists for High-Court Hopefuls; When it comes to building buzz for a would-be Supreme Court nominee, few are as useful as proteges who have gone on to higher places”: Jess Bravin had this article yesterday in The Wall Street Journal. You can freely access the full text of the article via Google News.

“A look at Leah Ward Sears”: Available online at this link, from the Fulton County Daily Report.

“Lawsuit Abuse, GOP Style: The state attorneys general efforts to block health care reform aren’t just wrong; They’re frivolous.” Simon Lazarus and Alan Morrison have this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

“Caught on cam: Two males burglarize Court of Appeals.” KOB-TV Eyewitness News 4 in Albuquerque, New Mexico has this report.

“US discrimination case between Betty Dukes and Wal-Mart reaches Supreme Court”: This article appears today in The Times of London.

“153 years later, a wrong is made right”: Today’s edition of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette contains an article that begins, “The Pennsylvania Supreme Court Tuesday admitted George Boyer Vashon to the practice of law 153 years after Allegheny County officials turned him down because of his race.”

And The Associated Press reports that “Black lawyer rejected for Pa. bar in 1847 admitted.”

You can access yesterday’s order of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania at this link.

“Sotomayor’s Justice League”: At “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times,” Marcia Coyle has a post that begins, “Justice Sonia Sotomayor has attained true stardom. This month, she joins House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former Vice President Al Gore and conservative radio icon Rush Limbaugh in having her own comic book.”

“High Court short-listers’ Job No. 1: Don’t mess up.” The Associated Press has this report.

“High court contender Kagan brings reputation for consensus-building”: Bill Mears of CNN.com has this report.

“California Supreme Court debates ban on affirmative action in contracts; The high court, reviewing a San Francisco ordinance that gives firms owned by women and minorities an advantage in contracting, considers easing the scope of Proposition 209, which was passed in 1996”: Maura Dolan has this article today in The Los Angeles Times.

And today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article headlined “Prop. 209 challenge to S.F. contractor law.”