“Enron’s Skilling Gets Nov. 1 Hearing on Retrial Bid”: Bloomberg News has a report that begins, “Former Enron Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Skilling’s bid for a new trial is scheduled for a Nov. 1 hearing before a federal appeals court in Houston, his lawyer said.”

“Dismissal of mom’s suit over son’s heart upheld”: Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle.

“Kagan’s Presence on U.S. Top Court to Be Felt by Her Absence in First Term”: Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News has this report.

“Democrats Push Forward on Goodwin Liu, Other Judge Nominees”: David Ingram has this post at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”

And The Associated Press has a report headlined “Democrats: GOP now blocking picks for lower courts.”

“Criminally Bad: NBC’s Outlaw is deeply cynical, wholly unbelievable, and weirdly conservative.” Online at Slate, Dahlia Lithwick has an essay that begins, “The Supreme Court oral-argument scene at the very beginning of Outlaw, NBC’s new Jimmy Smits vehicle, is awfully realistic. It looks exactly like the real court, right down to the pretend Justice Ginsburg and faux Alito. But beyond that, everything about Outlaw, which settles into its Friday time slot this week, is so terrible it makes your face hurt.”

Recipient of public assistance wins the lottery and litigation ensues: A divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued this ruling today.

“Chilling Account in Connecticut Triple-Murder Case”: This article appears today in The New York Times.

Today’s edition of The Hartford Courant contains an article headlined “In Testimony, Detective Gives Hayes’ Account Of Beating, Rapes.” In addition, columnist Helen Ubinas has an essay entitled “How Much More Horror Must Petit Family Endure? Medical Examiner’s Testimony Proves Too Much for Dr. Petit and Family Members.”

And The New Haven Register contains an article headlined “Hayes: Petit’s wife raped to ‘square things up.’”

“An Extreme Judicial Blockade”: Today’s edition of The New York Times contains an editorial that begins, “The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to meet on Thursday with an agenda that includes consideration of nominees for federal district and circuit court judgeships who have already been approved by the committee once, or even twice.”

“Florida Court Calls Ban on Gay Adoptions Unlawful”: John Schwartz has this article today in The New York Times.

Today in The Wall Street Journal, Nathan Koppel reports that “Appeals Court Rejects Florida’s Ban on Gay Adoptions.”

The Orlando Sentinel reports that “Florida’s gay-adoption ban unconstitutional, court rules; Gov. Charlie Crist says state will stop enforcing gay-adoption ban immediately.”

And The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that “South Florida court upholds ruling that overturns state’s gay adoption ban.”

My earlier coverage of yesterday’s ruling of Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal can be accessed here.

“Former Justice O’Connor wants ‘to keep cash out of’ Nevada courtrooms in push for ballot question”: The Reno Gazette-Journal contains this article today.

“A justice explains the mysteries and mechanics of the high court”: David M. Shribman has this book review today in The Boston Globe.

“3rd Circuit Overturns 8-Figure Settlement in Lending Class Action — Again”: Shannon P. Duffy has this article today in The Legal Intelligencer reporting on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued yesterday.