“Chief justice: Budget cuts, politicization threaten Iowa court system.” The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier has a news update that begins, “Iowans should resist the urge to politicize the state’s court system in the wake of a historic election that ousted three sitting state Supreme Court justices in November, the court’s new chief justice said.”

And The Sioux City Journal reports today that “Petition calls for end to judicial impeachment move.”

“First Do No Harm: Why judges should butt out of the fight over health care reform.” Law professor Christopher Jon Sprigman has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

In the February 24, 2011 issue of The New York Review of Books, law professor David Cole has an essay entitled “Is Health Care Reform Unconstitutional?”

And at Reason.com, Damon W. Root has an essay entitled “Are We All Originalists Now? The debate over ObamaCare highlights a growing division on the legal left.”

“Retired Supreme Court Justice Joe Greenhill dies in Austin; ‘Giant’ among Texas jurists left deep mark on state high court”: Chuck Lindell of The Austin American-Statesman has this news update.

If you read no other appellate case summaries today: Be sure to read this one from law professor Shaun Martin at his “California Appellate Report” blog.

“DOJ Moves to Limit Star Law Professor’s Role in Greenhouse Gas Emissions Case”: Lawrence Hurley of Greenwire today has an article that begins, “The Justice Department has intervened to minimize the role of prominent Harvard Law School professor Laurence Tribe in an upcoming Supreme Court case that touches on the volatile subject of climate change.”

“Former Chief Justice Joe Greenhill, who in 25 years on the Texas Supreme Court was the longest-serving justice in Texas history, died Friday in Austin at 96.” So begins a news release that the Supreme Court of Texas issued today.

“Supreme Court of New Jersey Will Review Attorneys’ Fee Enhancement Case”: Bruce Greenberg has this post today at his “New Jersey Appellate Law” blog. At issue in the case is whether New Jersey state courts should adopt as a matter of state law the U.S. Supreme Court‘s holding last Term in Perdue v. Kenny A.

“Teen’s ‘bitch’ yell in theater ruled disorderly conduct”: Online at the First Amendment Center, David L. Hudson Jr. has this report.

“Prosecutors drop some charges against Barry Bonds”: Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle.

The New York Times reports today that “Prosecutors Reduce Charges Against Bonds.”

And The Associated Press reports that “Bonds seeks exclusion of recording from trial.”

“Investment firm’s secrets slip out”: Today in The Boston Globe, columnist Steven Syre has an essay that begins, “If it hadn’t been for a strange turn of events at the state’s highest court, sensitive details about the vast wealth of secretive Boston investment firm Wellington Management Co. might have never seen the light of day.”

“Kin lose awards tied to ’82 killings; Court says suits filed too late”: The Boston Globe today contains an article that begins, “After decades of legal wrangling, the families of two men who were gunned down on Boston’s waterfront in 1982 by longtime FBI informant James ‘Whitey’ Bulger proved the government was to blame and were awarded nearly $8.5 million two years ago. But, yesterday, a federal Appeals Court reversed the decision, ruling that the families of Michael Donahue and Edward ‘Brian’ Halloran were not entitled to anything because they filed their civil suits against the government too late.”

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

“Three challengers seek Prosser’s court seat”: This article appears today in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The newspaper also contains an article headlined “Supreme Court candidates support review of lawyer discipline; 2 want investigations made public earlier.”

“Orie sisters’ ethics trial opens; Defense attorney calls accusations a hit ‘below the belt'”: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette contains this article today.

And today’s edition of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review contains an article headlined “Campaign chores took ‘whole days.’”

“Access to justice becoming a privilege of the rich, judge warns”: Today in The Toronto Globe and Mail, Kirk Makin has an article that begins, “The middle class has been shut out of a justice system that caters primarily to the very rich and the very poor, the country’s top judge has told a group of legal luminaries.”

“Justice Thomas visits Omaha”: This article appears today in The Omaha World-Herald.

“Ginny Thomas puts her husband at risk”: Dan K. Thomasson of Scripps Howard News Service has this essay.

“New chief justice urges local lawyers and judges to work with Legislature”: Denny Walsh has this article today in The Sacramento Bee.

“What Would Shirley Do?” Linda Greenhouse has this post at the “Opinionator” blog of The New York Times.

“Loughner lawyers fight mugshot release”: Josh Gerstein of Politico.com has this post at his “Under the Radar” blog.

The Arizona Republic reports today that “Jared Loughner lawyers try to halt release of mug shots.”

And earlier this week, The Oklahoman reported that “Oklahoma judge to take cases of judge killed in Arizona; U.S. District Judge Tim Leonard, a federal judge in Oklahoma City, will handle some of the criminal cases that were assigned to U.S. District Judge John Roll, an Arizona federal judge who died in a mass shooting last month at a congresswoman’s event in Tucson, Ariz.”

“Drug defendant retried on high court’s order is acquitted”: Today’s edition of The Boston Globe contains an article that begins, “A Jamaica Plain man has been acquitted in a retrial of a cocaine trafficking case that went to the US Supreme Court and resulted in a landmark decision affecting evidence in criminal trials around the country. A jury found Luis Melendez-Diaz, 32, not guilty yesterday in Suffolk Superior Court.”

And The Associated Press has an article headlined “Acquittal for Mass. man in Supreme Court case.”

“Ruling against health insurance mandate is a ‘tea party’ milestone; The decision by a federal judge in Florida gives voice to the tea party’s rallying cry that the Constitution put strict limits on the national government”: David G. Savage and Kathleen Hennessey will have this article Friday in The Los Angeles Times.

“Judge Deanell Tacha named as Pepperdine University’s dean of law”: The Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World has this news update.

And today Pepperdine University issued a news release headlined “Distinguished U.S. Court of Appeals Circuit Judge Named Dean of Pepperdine University School of Law.”

“No damages for families of Boston mob victims”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “A federal appeals court says the families of two men who were gunned down by Boston mobsters in 1982 will not receive $8.5 million in damages because their wrongful death lawsuits against the FBI were filed two years after a legal deadline.”

You can access today’s ruling by a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit at this link.

“Musical Chairs: Judge Tacha To Take Over as Dean of Pepperdine Law.” David Lat has this post at “Above the Law.”

In January 2004, then-Chief Judge Deanell Reece Tacha of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit was my interviewee in this blog’s “20 questions for the appellate judge” feature. You can access the interview by clicking here.

“Court Upholds Federal Teacher-Protection Law”: At the “School Law” blog of Education Week, Mark Walsh today has a post that begins, “A federal statute meant to give teachers and school administrators protection from legal liability over their efforts to maintain safe and orderly schools has been upheld against a constitutional challenge. The Missouri Supreme Court, ruling in a lawsuit in which a student who had been slashed by another student sought to hold a school superintendent liable, held that the federal law was a valid exercise of Congress’ powers under the spending clause in Article I of the Constitution.”

You can access Tuesday’s ruling of the Supreme Court of Missouri at this link.

“Calif. court: Merchants can’t ask patrons for ZIPs.” The Associated Press has a report that begins, “The California Supreme Court says merchants in the state can no longer ask credit card customers for their ZIP codes.”

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

“Makeover Urged for Federal Court Web Sites”: Tony Mauro has this post today at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”

“One giant health care case? Virginia asks the Court to gather up all of the health care law’s challenges from the federal appeals courts, and decide all of them in one omnibus proceeding dealing with every issue; The constitutional controversy has mired the nation in uncertainty, the state argues.” Lyle Denniston has this post at “SCOTUSblog.”

“Pennsylvania Supreme Court to Decide Definition of ‘Public Charity'”: Paul Caron has this post at his “TaxProf Blog.”

My most recent earlier coverage of this case, in which I represent the party that sought Pa. Supreme Court review, appears at this link.

“Leroy R. Hassell Sr., Virginia’s first black chief justice, dies at 55”: The Washington Post contains this obituary today.

Today’s edition of The Richmond Times-Dispatch contains an obituary headlined “Virginia Supreme Court Justice Leroy R. Hassell Sr. dies at 55.”

And The Virginian-Pilot contains an obituary headlined “Virginia Supreme Court Justice Leroy Hassell dies at 55” and an editorial entitled “A justice for all Virginians.”

“Hot news v new media”: This post appears at the “Babbage” blog of The Economist.

“Pa. Supreme Court to hear appeal on cultural trust’s tax exemptions”: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette contains this article today.

And The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports today that “Nonprofit’s tax fight heads to high court.”

“Cuccinelli asks Supreme Court to expedite health-care ruling”: This article appears today in The Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Bloomberg News reports that “Republican Governors in 28 States Request Fast Review of Health Law Suits.”

And ABCNews.com has a report headlined “Should Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas, Elena Kagan Sit Out Health Care Case? Seventy-Four Democrats Say Justice Thomas Should Recuse Himself Because of Wife’s Lobbying.”

“Dining with a justice”: Today in The Basehor (Kan.) Sentinel, Rae Sedgwick has an essay that begins, “I had dinner on Friday night with an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Justice Sonia Sotomayor. I am still pinching myself.”

“Opening arguments to begin in Orie trial”: This article appears today in The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

And The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports today that “Judge refuses ethics expert testimony.”