“2012 Tenth Circuit Bench & Bar Conference Cancelled”: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued this statement yesterday.

“Trial records at mercy of court reporters’ performance”: This article appeared Sunday in The Austin American-Statesman.

“Mexican national executed for killing of S.A. girl”: The San Antonio Express-News has this update.

And The Houston Chronicle has a news update headlined “Mexican executed for Texas teen’s slaying; High court rejected Obama bid to spare inmate’s life.”

“Court won’t stop execution of Mexican”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “The Supreme Court won’t stop Texas from executing a Mexican citizen convicted of raping and killing a 16-year-old girl in a case that has garnered international attention.”

You can access today’s per curiam ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in Leal Garcia v. Texas, No. 11-5001, at this link. Justice Stephen G. Breyer issued a dissenting opinion, in which Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan joined.

“Appeals panel tosses Ariz. man’s death sentence”: The Associated Press has this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued today.

“Court Rejects Part of Media-Ownership Rule”: The Wall Street Journal has this news update.

The Associated Press reports that “Court restores ban on newspaper, TV ownership.”

Bloomberg News reports that “FCC’s Rules on Media Cross-Ownership Are Vacated by Federal Appeals Court.”

And Reuters reports that “Part of FCC media ownership rule overturned.”

You can access today’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit at this link.

“John Paul Stevens Discusses Longevity; Retired justice wonders if he ‘jumped the gun’ on retiring”: AARP’s “Inside E Street” has this report and accompanying video clip.

Blog posts relating to the recent Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference: The ABA Journal’s “Law News Now” blog has a post titled “Law Prof Responds After Chief Justice Roberts Disses Legal Scholarship” that reports on a post titled “Sherrilyn Ifill on What the Chief Justice Should Read on Summer Vacation” at “Concurring Opinions.”

And at the “Insurance Defense Blog,” David B. Stratton has a post titled “Howard Bashman at Fourth Judicial Circuit Conference” commenting on a portion of my panel presentation at the conference.

In praise of the cliche “If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging”: On April 27, 2011, I had a post titled “Client and her lawyer may face sanctions from the Second Circuit for having pursued appeal from dismissal of lawsuit against high-ranking federal officials alleging ‘a fantastical alternative history’ of 9/11 attacks” that reported on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit had issued that day.

In a four-page decision that the Second Circuit issued today, you can read what one of the plaintiff’s lawyers did in response to the April 27th ruling to further incur the Second Circuit’s wrath.

“Justice Department strongly backs gays on marriage”: Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle.

“U.S. cannot compel groups to oppose prostitution, court says”: Reuters has this report.

And the New York Law Journal reports that “Anti-Prostitution Pledge Violates Speech Rights, Circuit Finds.”

My earlier coverage of yesterday’s Second Circuit ruling appears here and here.

“Court Rules Against Ban on Gays in the Military”: John Schwartz has this article today in The New York Times.

In today’s edition of The Los Angeles Times, Carol J. Williams reports that “‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ enforcement should end, appellate panel rules; The decision is a turnaround for the 9th Circuit; The shift is attributed to Justice Department and White House calls for ‘heightened scrutiny’ of laws that discriminate based on sexual orientation.”

Bill Mears of CNN.com reports that “Appeals court suspends enforcement of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy.”

Dan Levine of Reuters reports that “Court orders gay military service ban lifted.”

And The Recorder reports that “9th Circuit Lifts Stay on ‘Don’t Ask’ Injunction.”

“City OKs firing ranges; Previous ban fails to win Appeals Court backing”: This article appears today in The Chicago Tribune.

“Appellate Court upholds former Gov. George Ryan’s conviction”: The Chicago Sun-Times has this news update.

And The Chicago Tribune has a news update headlined “Appeal denied, but Ryan lawyers vow: ‘It’s not over.’”

My earlier coverage of today’s Seventh Circuit ruling appears at this link.

“Court bars enforcement of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell'”: Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has this news update.

And Carol J. Williams of the Los Angeles Times has a blog post titled “Court ends enforcement of ban on openly gay military service.”

“Feds urge court to let prison medicate Loughner”: The Associated Press has this report.

You can access at this link the federal government’s filing today in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

“Court orders immediate halt to gay military ban”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “A federal appeals court has barred further enforcement of the U.S. military’s ban on openly gay service members.”

You can access today’s order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link.

“Chicago Ban on Firing Ranges Blocked in Preliminary Appeals Court Ruling”: Bloomberg News has this report.

My earlier coverage of today’s Seventh Circuit ruling appears two posts below.

“Appeals court: US can’t force anti-sex-work pledge.” The Associated Press has this report.

My earlier coverage of today’s Second Circuit ruling appears at this link.

Chicago misses avoiding adverse Seventh Circuit gun range ruling by that much: Today’s edition of The Chicago Tribune contains an article headlined “Council set to OK firing ranges, with limits; Plan to legalize practice shooting facilities designed to head off federal court ruling against city” that begins, “Firing ranges could soon be legal inside Chicago city limits as Mayor Rahm Emanuel is fast-tracking a plan designed to head off a federal court decision that could force the city to accept them. A panel of aldermen Tuesday recommended approval of the ordinance, which would permit ranges, but with serious restrictions. The City Council is expected to follow suit at its Wednesday meeting.”

And The Chicago Sun-Times reports today that “City Council panel OKs gun range ordinance.”

If Chicago’s goal in authorizing gun ranges within city limits was intended to avoid an adverse Seventh Circuit ruling, the effort has not achieved its desired result. Today a three-judge panel issued this ruling holding that plaintiffs are entitled to the entry of a preliminary injunction under the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution enjoining enforcement of Chicago ordinances that condition gun possession on gun range training but simultaneously forbid gun range training everywhere in the city.

“Ryan loses appeal to get out of jail”: Chicago’s ABC affiliate WLS-TV has a news report that begins, “A judge has rejected an appeal by former governor George Ryan to be released from prison.”

Chief Judge Frank H. Easterbrook wrote today’s ruling on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Received in last Friday’s mail: Just in time for the holiday weekend, I received a copy of the newly published Garner’s Dictionary of Legal Usage (Third Edition) by Bryan A. Garner.

Do you oppose prostitution? The majority on a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit today issued a ruling that strikes down as unconstitutional a provision of a federal statute that denies federal monetary assistance in the fight against AIDS to any organization “that does not have a policy explicitly opposing prostitution and sex trafficking.”

According to the majority opinion, this requirement constitutes an unconstitutional condition because “[c]ompelling speech as a condition of receiving a government benefit cannot be squared with the First Amendment.” The majority opinion also condemned the requirement as “viewpoint-based, because it requires recipients to take the government’s side on a particular issue. It is well established that viewpoint-based intrusions on free speech offend the First Amendment.”

According to the dissenting opinion, today’s Second Circuit ruling conflicts with a ruling that the D.C. Circuit issued in 2007. For that and other reasons, this case may present a strong candidate for U.S. Supreme Court review should the federal government so request.

“Justices discover they’re sisters, in law”: Today’s edition of The Columbus Dispatch contains an article that begins, “They blazed new trails when they took the oath of office in January — Maureen O’Connor as the state’s first female chief justice and Yvette McGee Brown as the first African-American female justice of the Ohio Supreme Court.”

“The Supreme Court closes the door to justice; The Supreme Court seems to have lost faith in the American court system”: Law professor Erwin Chemerinsky will have this op-ed Wednesday in The Los Angeles Times.

“Should the Government Need a Search Warrant to Track Your Car with GPS?” Adam Cohen has this essay online at Time magazine’s web site.

What constitutes “good cause” for an extension of time in which to file a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to review a ruling of the Supreme Court of the U.S. Virgin Islands? A judge serving on the Third Circuit today issued this opinion addressing that issue.

“Different Kinds of Wrong: The difference between Obama’s Libya policy and Bush’s torture policy.” Law professor Dawn Johnsen has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

Lawyers on TV whose last name starts with “Bash”: Of course there’s the TNT network’s fictional “Franklin & Bash,” whose next episode airing tomorrow night will feature guest star Jason Alexander.

And then there’s your friendly appellate law blogger host here at “How Appealing,” whose recent appearance as a panelist at the Fourth Circuit‘s Judicial Conference was televised at 3 p.m. eastern time yesterday on C-SPAN. If you were not glued to C-SPAN on the afternoon of July 4th (and I can attest that I too was not), you can watch the program online, on demand via this link.

“A States’ Rights Advocate Upholds Obamacare”: Law professor David Cole has this post today at the blog of The New York Review of Books.

Access online MoloLamken’s Supreme Court Business Briefing: Via this link.

“Appeals court: No forced meds for Tucson suspect.” The Associated Press has this report on an order that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued on Saturday.

“Michigan Voters v. The Royal Court”: Jennifer Gratz has this essay online at The Michigan View.com.

“Supreme Court Isn’t Pro-Business, But Should Be”: Ramesh Ponnuru has this essay online at Bloomberg News.

“Arizona conservatives scramble after campaign finance law’s defeat; The state’s Clean Elections Act had swept a surge of small-government Republicans into power”: This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times.