“Court upholds malpractice cap”: Today’s edition of The Charleston (W. Va.) Daily Mail contains an article that begins, “The state Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a key portion of the state’s painstakingly crafted medical malpractice reforms.”

And MetroNews reports that “Supreme Court Upholds Cap On Medical Malpractice Damages.”

You can access yesterday’s ruling of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia at this link.

“Will Conrad Black go back to jail?” This article appears today in The Toronto Globe and Mail.

CBC News reports that “Conrad Black could avoid more prison time; Judge in Chicago could send one-time media mogul back to prison.”

And The Canadian Press reports that “Conrad Black may escape more jail time Friday.”

“Licking County Prosecutor Ken Oswalt to appeal rape decision”: Today’s edition of The Newark (Ohio) Advocate contains an article that begins, “Licking County Prosecutor Ken Oswalt plans to appeal an Ohio Supreme Court decision that found charging children younger than 13 with statutory rape violated constitutional rights.”

My earlier coverage of this case appears here and here.

“Vt. Supreme Court hears police e-privacy case”: The Associated Press has this report.

“Cloud Over the Court”: Today’s edition of The New York Times contains an editorial that begins, “The Supreme Court is not bound by the code of conduct for federal judges, but justices have said they follow it voluntarily.”

“Wal-Mart Case: Another Loss for Trial Lawyers; The Supreme Court’s ruling is the latest in a series of decisions that make it clear the justices aim to curb mass litigation.” Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News has an article that begins, “No one will be happier to see the Supreme Court begin its summer vacation than the nation’s trial lawyers.”

And Margaret Cronin Fisk and Karen Gullo of Bloomberg News report that “Costco Women’s Suit May be Imperiled by Supreme Court’s Wal-Mart Decision.”

Three-judge First Circuit panel, “[a]fter consulting with the en banc judges,” overrules decision of an earlier three-judge panel in another case: Rehearing en banc can be a costly and time-consuming process to undertake when a federal appellate court realizes that one of its earlier decisions reached an incorrect result. In a ruling issued yesterday, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit employed a streamlined alternate approach that produced the same outcome without all the cost, delay and inconvenience.

“Vermont Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument in Challenge to Ex Ante Restrictions on Computer Warrants”: Orin Kerr has this post at “The Volokh Conspiracy.”

“Federal judge strikes down Florida’s death penalty”: The Palm Beach Post has this news update.

And Pete Williams of NBC News has a report headlined “Florida death penalty ruling could affect Casey Anthony case; At issue is the way the state lets judges hand down capital sentences.”

My earlier coverage of the ruling appears at this link.

“Winklevoss Twins Won’t Pursue U.S. Supreme Court Appeal of Facebook Accord”: Bloomberg News has this report.

The Los Angeles Times has a blog post titled “Winklevoss twins abandon appeal over Facebook settlement to U.S. Supreme Court.”

And The New York Times has a blog post titled “Winklevosses Drop Facebook Fight, Keep Settlement.”

Update: In other coverage, Reuters reports that “Winklevoss twins end appeal of Facebook settlement.”

“Supreme Court to reconsider lawsuits against the military”: Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers has this report.

“Miami federal judge: Florida’s death penalty is unconstitutional.” The Miami Herald has a news update that begins, “A Vero Beach man sent to Death Row deserves a new sentencing hearing because Florida’s death penalty law is unconstitutional, a Miami federal judge ruled Wednesday.”

And The Associated Press has a report headlined “US judge: Fla. death sentences unconstitutional.”

I have posted at this link Monday’s 94-page ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

“Nagareda’s ghost: the professor who influenced Dukes ruling.” Alison Frankel of Thomson Reuters News & Insight has this report.

“NJ doctors’ group suing to block health care law”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “A federal appeals court hearing arguments Wednesday in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of last year’s U.S. health reform law focused primarily on whether plaintiffs need to demonstrate they are suffering economic harm now or will when the part of the law mandating that everyone have health coverage takes effect.”

Once the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit posts online the audio of today’s oral argument, I will link to it here.

Greetings from White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia! My first social event starts momentarily, but I will be fashionably late.

Programming note: Today I’ll be traveling to the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia to attend the Judicial Conference of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, where I’ll be a speaker and panelist on the Friday morning program, titled “Opening Up: Can the Courts Be More Open and Better Understood?” The New Yorker‘s Jeffrey Toobin will also be participating as a speaker on that panel. I’ll provide a complete list of my co-panelists in an upcoming post. Apparently C-SPAN will be recording the program for broadcast at a later date.

On Saturday morning, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. is scheduled to deliver the Chief Justice’s traditional end-of-Term remarks at the conference.

Additional posts will appear here later today.

“Horne: State has the right to ensure the integrity of the voters.” Howard Fischer has this article today in The Yuma Sun.

And The Associated Press reports that “Court reconsiders Arizona voter citizenship law.”

Via this link, you can access both the audio and the video of yesterday’s en banc oral argument before an eleven-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

“The ‘Country Lawyer’ Shaping Campaign Finance Law”: This audio segment about attorney James Bopp appeared on today’s broadcast of NPR’s “Morning Edition.”

“Sex case involving boys to be appealed; Prosecutor says dismissal curtails legal authority”: Today’s edition of The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch contains an article that begins, “The Licking County prosecutor says he intends to appeal the Ohio Supreme Court’s ruling this month that overturned the rape conviction of a 12-year-old boy who had sex with an 11-year-old friend.”

My earlier coverage of the ruling can be accessed here.

“Appeals court lets race-based admissions at UT stand”: The Austin American-Statesman has this news update.

And The Daily Texan has a news update headlined “Federal appeals court hands down decision in UT’s favor.”

My earlier coverage of last Friday’s Fifth Circuit order denying rehearing en banc and the dissent therefrom can be accessed here and here.

“Cubans who can’t be deported could end up detained in U.S.; Cubans with deportation orders are alarmed about a bill in Congress that immigrant rights activists say could lead to indefinite detentions”: The Miami Herald has this news update.

“Wal-Mart Case Is a Blow for Big Cases and Their Lawyers”: This article appears today in The New York Times.

“Court rules game wardens don’t violate Constitution by stopping hunters, fishermen”: In today’s edition of The Sacramento Bee, Denny Walsh has an article that begins, “People who fish and hunt in California have less protection of their privacy right under the U.S. Constitution, the state’s Supreme Court ruled Monday.”

Metropolitan News-Enterprise reports that “S.C. Upholds Traffic Stop Based on Possible Fishing Violation.”

And The Recorder reports that “Cantil-Sakauye’s First High Court Opinion Gives Games Wardens Latitude in Searches.”

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

“Supreme Court justices’ schism not unusual; its openness is”: This article appeared Sunday in The Wisconsin State Journal.

“Blogs battle over New York Times’s report on Justice Clarence Thomas”: Politico.com has this report.

“Sotomayor opens up about her diabetes”: Joan Biskupic of USA Today has this news update.

Wednesday’s edition of The Los Angeles Times will contain an article headlined “Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor speaks out about her struggles with childhood diabetes.”

Nina Totenberg of NPR has a report headlined “Sotomayor Opens Up About Diabetes.”

And at the “School Law” blog of Education Week, Mark Walsh has a post titled “Sotomayor Tells Students Diabetes No Barrier to Aspirations.”

“Wal-Mart Women Vow to Press Bias Fight in Lower Court, U.S. Rights Agency”: Bloomberg News has this report.

Wednesday’s edition of The Sydney Morning Herald reports that “Walmart women to fight on despite setback.”

And Reuters reports that “U.S. law firm spent $7 million to sue Wal-Mart.”

“Impact of Supreme Court’s Greenhouse Gas Ruling Likely to Be Felt in Other Cases”: Lawrence Hurley of Greenwire has this report (via The New York Times).

“Sotomayor tells how she deals with diabetes”: Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report.

“Band of Brothers Admitted to Supreme Court Bar”: Tony Mauro has this post at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”

“Decision in Wal-Mart case a blow to class actions”: Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report.

D.C. Circuit holds that the First Amendment confers no right to the deface Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House: You can access today’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit at this link.

David Kravets is reporting: At Wired.com’s “Threat Level” blog, he has posts titled “Righthaven Loss: Judge Rules Reposting Entire Article Is Fair Use” and “Appeals Court Deals Blow to ‘Hot News’ Doctrine.”

“Class Dismissed: The Supreme Court decides that the women of Wal-Mart can’t have their day in court.” Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

Justice Sotomayor brings the heat: Sure, the U.S. Supreme Court may be in its home stretch for October Term 2010, but there’s still time for baseball. As I previously noted here, on Saturday Justice Sonia Sotomayor threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Wrigley Field in Chicago, where the Cubs hosted her beloved New York Yankees. (Coincidentally, I too attended a professional baseball game on Saturday, where I observed one of the strangest plays ever.)

ESPN.com provides this photographic evidence of Justice Sotomayor’s fastball. According to The Chicago Tribune, the ceremonial first pitch battery consisted of Justice Sotomayor and Cubs catcher Geovany Soto. The Chicago Sun-Times also provides this coverage. Justice Sotomayor, however, apparently did not lead the Wrigley faithful in singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the seventh inning stretch.

Although circumstances dictated that Justice Sotomayor wear a Cubs jersey, she apparently had the last laugh, as the Yankees won 4-3. You can access the box score at this link. Perhaps less satisfied with the outcome was Justice Sotomayor’s host at the game, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL).