“Supreme Court to hear Rehberg case”: Sunday’s edition of The Albany (Ga.) Herald contained an article that begins, “A fight that began in 2003 between a local surgeon, a medical practice administrator and Dougherty County’s not-for-profit hospital will begin anew Tuesday in the chambers of the U.S. Supreme Court in what could set a precedent about how far a court official’s immunity really goes.”

“Lifelong Death Sentences”: Adam Liptak will have this new installment of his “Sidebar” column in Tuesday’s edition of The New York Times.

“Ohio Judicial Center to be named for late chief justice”: The Columbus Dispatch has a news update that begins, “The state Supreme Court is naming the Ohio Judicial Center in honor of the late Chief Justice Thomas Moyer, who was the second-longest chief justice in state history at the time of his death in April 2010.”

“US court trims conviction in Cuba player smuggling”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “A federal appeals court on Monday handed a partial victory to a professional sports agent who was sentenced to prison for smuggling five Cuban baseball players into Florida.”

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

“In this appeal, we are called upon to decide what test to apply in order to determine whether land is ‘wetlands’ subject to the CWA after the Supreme Court’s ruling in Rapanos v. United States, 547 U.S. 715 (2006).” So states an opinion that a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued today.

The opinion, written by Circuit Judge Marjorie O. Rendell, proceeds to explain that “We join the Courts of Appeals for the First and Eighth Circuits in holding, as the District Court here did, that property is ‘wetlands’ subject to the CWA if it meets either of the tests laid out in Rapanos.”

“Court reluctant on plea bargains after sentencing”: Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press has this report.

You can access at this link the transcript of today’s U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in Lafler v. Cooper, No. 10-209. And you can access at this link the transcript of today’s oral argument in Missouri v. Frye, No. 10-444.

“Tiny fish keeps protection as Supreme Court declines to review case”: Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers has this report.

“U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear Utah highway crosses case”: The Deseret News has this update.

The Salt Lake Tribune has a news update headlined “Crosses for fallen UHP officers must be removed.”

In Tuesday’s edition of The New York Times, Adam Liptak will have an article headlined “Justices Decline Case on Highway Crosses.”

Joan Biskupic of USA Today has a news update headlined “Supreme Court won’t hear Utah highway crosses dispute.”

Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has an article headlined “Crosses on public land: Did Supreme Court leave legal issue in ‘shambles’? The Supreme Court agrees not to take a case on whether memorial crosses on public land in Utah violate the First Amendment; But one justice says the court has left the topic in legal limbo.”

Bill Mears of CNN.com reports that “Justices turn aside appeal over highway crosses.”

And at the “School Law” blog of Education Week, Mark Walsh has a post titled “Thomas: Establishment Clause Jurisprudence ‘In Shambles.’”

“Senate confirms Higginson for 5th Circuit appeals seat”: The Shreveport Times has this news update.

“Justices decline to take delta smelt case”: Lawrence Hurley of Greenwire has this report.

Lyle Denniston is reporting: At “SCOTUSblog,” he has posts titled “No clarity on religious displays” and “Ninth Circuit faulted — again.”

“Creditor Moves to Dismantle Copyright Troll Righthaven”: David Kravets has this post at Wired.com’s “Threat Level” blog.

“Judge remains close to home; Smith now serves on Court of Appeals”: This profile of Third Circuit Judge D. Brooks Smith appears today in The Altoona (Pa.) Mirror.

“CAFC: Patent Opinions Down, Rule 36 Affirmances Up.” Jason Rantanen has this post at “Patently-O.”

Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News is reporting: He has articles headlined “Endangered Species Act Survives Challenge at U.S. High Court“; “Stryker Rejected in Bid for High Court Limits on Patient Suits“; and “Merck Can Block Teva on Generic Temodar as Court Rejects Appeal.”

“Supreme Court won’t hear Utah memorial cross dispute”: James Vicini of Reuters has this report.

Access online today’s Order List of the U.S. Supreme Court: The Court has posted today’s Order List at this link. The Court today summarily affirmed in one case but did not grant review in any new cases.

In Cavazos v. Smith, No. 10-1115, the Court issued a per curiam decision reversing the judgment of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg issued a dissenting opinion, in which Justices Stephen G. Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor joined.

And Justice Clarence Thomas issued an opinion dissenting from the denial of certiorari in Utah Highway Patrol v. American Atheists, Inc., No. 10-1276.

In early news coverage, The Associated Press reports that “High court avoids dispute over highway crosses“; “High court reinstates ‘shaken baby’ conviction“; and “Court sidesteps Connecticut student speech case.”

“Judges Are for Sale — and Special Interests Are Buying”: Adam Cohen of Time magazine has this essay.

“High Court Considers When Bad Lawyers Taint A Case”: On today’s broadcast of NPR’s “Morning Edition,” Nina Totenberg had this audio segment.

“Court Weighs Private Inmates’ Rights”: This article will appear Monday in The Wall Street Journal.

“Supreme Court to take another look at prosecutorial misconduct”: Robert Barnes will have this article Monday in The Washington Post.

“Supreme Court to Weigh Effects of Bad Plea Advice”: Adam Liptak will have this article Monday in The New York Times.

“Supreme Court to hear case of felon hurt in private prison”: Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers has this report.

“U.S. Supreme Court takes up treatment of pigs; The National Meat Assn. challenges a California law that says slaughterhouses must remove and ‘humanely euthanize’ animals unable to walk”: David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times.

“Under the U.S. Supreme Court: When does religious speech become political speech?” Michael Kirkland of UPI has this report.

“Wal-Mart sued in Texas for gender discrimination”: Reuters has this report.

“The Court and the Next President”: This editorial appears today in The New York Times.

“Tucson rampage suspect’s lawyers say meds hurt him”: The Associated Press has this report.

“The Post: Good Scholarship from the Internet.” This law-related publication, on whose editorial board I’m serving, is now available online via this link (or directly at this link).

The Post appears as part of The Journal of Law, published by The Green Bag.

As Anna Ivey’s introduction to the inaugural issue of The Post explains, “The explosion of legal blogs in the last ten years or so inspires us to ask: What constitutes good legal blog writing? And is it possible to identify the best of the best? In that spirit, we introduce The Post.”

“Appeals court overturns key Cape Wind clearance”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “A federal appeals court on Friday rejected the Federal Aviation Administration’s ruling that the Cape Wind project’s turbines present ‘no hazard’ to aviation, overturning a vital clearance for the nation’s first offshore wind farm.”

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

“Appeals Court Rules For Circus In Elephant Dispute”: At “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times,” Mike Scarcella has this post about a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued today.

“Justice Served: U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens’s thirty-five-year tenure was marked by intellectual rigor, lack of pretension, and the firm belief that absolutism had no place on the bench.” Michael O’Donnell has this book review in the current issue of Washington Monthly.

“Ricci’s Not Over”: The New Haven Independent today has posted online an article that begins, “Only two months after the city seemed to have dealt with the last vestiges of the Ricci case by settling for $5 million with a group of mostly white firefighters, it now faces a new lawsuit–this time from a group of black firefighters. It’s exactly the situation the city was trying to avoid when it threw out the results of a 2003 fire department promotions exam after no African-American test-takers scored highly enough to be promoted. The city argued that it would be sued for using a biased test if it certified the results.”

“Court overturns woman’s horn-honking conviction”: Today’s edition of The Seattle Times contains an article that begins, “The case of a Snohomish County woman who was jailed for honking her horn in a dispute with a neighbor has been overturned by the state Supreme Court, which ruled that the county’s ordinance on horn-honking was overbroad.”

The Daily Herald of Everett, Washington reports today that “State Supreme Court tosses county horn-honking limits as overly broad.”

SeattlePI.com reports that “Neighborhood horn-honker wins one before state Supreme Court.”

Yesterday’s 6-3 ruling of the Washington State Supreme Court consists of a majority opinion and two dissenting opinions (here and here).

“JCPS asks Kentucky high court to review student assignment ruling”: The Louisville Courier-Journal today contains an article that begins, “Nearly a month after a Kentucky Appeals Court struck down Jefferson County Public Schools student assignment plan, the district on Thursday asked the state Supreme Court to take up the case.”