“Can you appeal a final judgment rendered against someone else? Especially when you aren’t a named party to the lawsuit and voluntarily left the case long ago? At least generally, and specifically in this case, the answer is no.” So begins an opinion that Circuit Judge Neil M. Gorsuch issued today on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

“Ruling Blocks Realtor From Suing Over Comments on Rival’s Blog”: Wednesday’s edition of The New York Law Journal will contain an article that begins, “New York’s highest court attempted for the first time yesterday to draw a line between when website operators can claim the protection of federal law for objectionable material provided by third parties and when they can be sued for libelous content.”

The Associated Press reports that “NY’s top court rejects online defamation lawsuit.”

And Reuters has an article headlined “Blog not liable for defamatory comment: NY high court.”

You can access today’s 4-3 ruling of the New York State Court of Appeals at this link.

“Supreme Court reinstates collective bargaining law”: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has a news update that begins, “Acting with unusual speed, the state Supreme Court on Tuesday reinstated Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to all but end collective bargaining for tens of thousands of public workers.”

The Wisconsin State Journal has a news update headlined “Supreme Court clears way for collective bargaining law to take effect.”

The Wall Street Journal has a news update headlined “Wisconsin Union Law to Take Effect.”

The Associated Press reports that “Court allows Wisconsin’s union law to take effect.”

And Reuters reports that “Wisconsin Supreme Court upholds anti-union law.”

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

“Accordingly, the Motion to Vacate Judgment on the sole ground of Judge Walker’s same-sex relationship is DENIED.” You can access today’s ruling of Chief U.S. District Judge James Ware of the Northern District of California at this link.

In early news coverage, Maura Dolan of The Los Angeles Times has a blog post titled “Gay jurist in Proposition 8 case had no legal obligation to remove himself, judge rules.”

And The Associated Press reports that “Gay judge’s same-sex marriage ruling upheld.”

Woman’s conviction for piercing cats upheld: Sorry, no euphemisms here. The Associated Press reports that “Pierced-cat seller’s cruelty conviction upheld.”

And The Times Leader of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania reports today that “Cruelty to ‘goth cats’ conviction is upheld; Woman accused of piercing the ears and necks of three kittens, docking their tails.”

You can access yesterday’s ruling of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania at this link.

“Contract to Defend DOMA Violates Spending Law, Complaint Says”: At “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times,” David Ingram has a post that begins, “A nonprofit group said today it is filing an ethics complaint against U.S. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) over how he and other House Republican leaders plan to pay for litigation over the federal Defense of Marriage Act.”

“Scalia continues his history of relying on history”: Tony Mauro has this analysis online at the First Amendment Center.

“Appellate court to rehear case on CPS teacher firings”: The Chicago Tribune has a report that begins, “The federal 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday vacated an earlier opinion that Chicago Public Schools improperly fired nearly 750 tenured teachers last summer, and has asked the Illinois Supreme Court to weigh in on several issues in the case.”

You can access yesterday’s per curiam ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit at this link.

“US court to decide rights of Walmart and its women”: This article appears today in The Sydney Morning Herald.

“Judge to decide Calif. gay marriage case Tuesday”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “A federal judge is deciding whether a gay judge’s ruling to strike down California’s same-sex marriage ban should be overturned because he failed to divulge his own marital intentions before throwing out the voter-approved measure.”

“Stevens: ‘I Was Never a Fan of Labels for Justices.'” Gwen Ifill interviewed retired Justice John Paul Stevens on yesterday evening’s broadcast of the PBS program “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.” You can access both the video and a transcript of the interview via this link.

“Clarence Thomas takes hard line on defendants”: Joan Biskupic has this article today in USA Today.

“Appeals court limits punishment for speech or writing done by students out of school”: Joseph A. Slobodzian has this article today in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The Republican-Herald of Pottsville, Pennsylvania reports today that “Blue Mountain teen wins MySpace speech case.”

And The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that “Pennsylvania districts lose cases over MySpace parodies.”

“In summer, justices head for enviable destinations”: Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report.