In very sad news from New Haven: The Connecticut Post reports that “Mark R. Kravitz, federal judge, dies at 62.”

And The Connecticut Law Tribune reports that “U.S. District Judge Mark Kravitz Passes Away; Well-respected jurist dies of ALS at age 62.”

“Supreme Court weighs whether Lozman’s houseboat in Riviera Beach was a vessel”: The Palm Beach Post has this news update.

“Justices Begin Term by Hearing Case Again”: Adam Liptak will have this article Tuesday in The New York Times.

David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has a news update headlined “Supreme Court weighs whether foreign victims can sue in U.S.”

In Tuesday’s edition of The Wall Street Journal, Jess Bravin will have an article headlined “Justices Probe ‘Alien Tort’ Law; Some Question Whether Statute Should Apply to Wrongs Committed Overseas.” You can freely access the full text of the article via Google News.

And Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has an article headlined “At Supreme Court: Can US courts be venue for human rights cases from abroad? On Day 1 of its term, the US Supreme Court heard a case involving allegations by 12 Nigerians that a foreign oil firm abetted human rights abuses in Nigeria 20 years ago; Alien Tort Statute, originally aimed at allowing legal action against pirates, lies at heart of the case.”

“The Most Conservative Supreme Court”: Lincoln Caplan has this blog post online at The New York Times.

“High court spotlight misses First Amendment”: Tony Mauro has this essay online at the First Amendment Center.

“Supreme Court Weighs Major Human-Rights Case”: Nina Totenberg had this audio segment on this evening’s broadcast of NPR’s “All Things Considered.”

Earlier, on today’s broadcast of “Morning Edition,” Totenberg had an audio segment entitled “High Court Preps For Another Headline-Making Term.”

“Supreme Court to decide if town’s destruction of floating home was all wet”: Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers has this report.

“Stop Pagination Now: Why websites should not make you click and click and click for the full story.” Farhad Manjoo has this essay online at Slate.

“Argument recap: If it floats, so what?” Lyle Denniston has this blog post at “SCOTUSblog.”

And at WSJ.com’s “Law Blog,” Brent Kendall has a post titled “I’m on a Boat! (Or Maybe I’m Not).”

“Supreme Court Debates Whether US Courts Can Take Human Rights Cases Overseas”: Ariane de Vogue of ABC News has this blog post.

And online at Slate, Emily Bazelon has a jurisprudence essay entitled “Torture Inc.: The Supreme Court term begins with a knotty human rights claim against big oil.”

“Court: Child porn victims can get restitution.” The Associated Press has a report that begins, “Child pornography victims can recover money from people convicted of viewing their abuse without having to show a link between the crime and their injuries, a federal appeals court ruled Monday. The decision conflicts with rulings by several other federal circuits, possibly setting the stage for a Supreme Court challenge.”

You can access today’s en banc ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in In re: Amy Unknown at this link.

“Smile for the Camera: The long lost photos of the Supreme Court at work–and what they reveal.” Law professor Sonja West has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

“Aging Supreme Court justices may open seats for next president”: Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers has this report.

“Justices weigh human rights claims against Shell”: Lawrence Hurley of Greenwire has this report.

And at “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston has a post titled “Argument recap: In search of an ATS compromise.”

“5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals gets first black chief judge”: The Associated Press has this report.

And at the “Tex Parte Blog” of Texas Lawyer, John Council has a post titled “Scarlet robe handed down to 5th Circuit’s new chief judge, a friend of the late jurist who originated the tradition.”

“Court seems unclear on house versus boat question”: The Associated Press has this report.

You can access at this link the transcript of today’s U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in Lozman v. Riviera Beach, No. 11-626.

“High court begins new term with human rights case”: Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report.

Jonathan Stempel of Reuters reports that “Supreme Court may narrow law in human rights cases.”

And Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that “Human-Rights Suits May Be Limited in Top Court Shell Case.”

You can access at this link the transcript of today’s U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., No. 10-1491.

“Health Care Case Is Seen as Helping Law but Hurting Court”: Adam Liptak will have this new installment of his “Sidebar” column Tuesday in The New York Times.

Eighth Circuit opinion issued today contains helpful chart listing details of “Eighth Circuit cases on the constitutionality of punitive damages after BMW of North America, Inc. v. Gore“: You can access today’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit at this link. In the decision, the Eighth Circuit also holds that a religious organization’s acts of beating and threatening of people are not protected by the First Amendment.

“Human rights in focus at U.S. Supreme Court”: Jonathan Stempel of Reuters has this report.

Access online today’s Order List of the U.S. Supreme Court: The Court has posted today’s 88-page Order List at this link. The Court did not grant review in any new cases, but the Court did request the views of the Solicitor General in three cases.

In early news coverage, The Associated Press reports that “High court rejects Wash. top-2 primary appeal“; “Court won’t get involved in Minn. elections fight“; “Court won’t hear anti-gay marriage group appeal“; “Court won’t hear challenge in Neb. abortion case“; “High court rejects challenge to roadless rule“; and “High court won’t hear wife’s appeal in murder case.”

And at “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston has a post titled “New look at health care?”

“Class-Action Lawyers Face Triple Threat At Supreme Court”: Daniel Fisher has this blog post at Forbes.com.

“How a rogue appeals court wrecked the patent system: Federal Circuit Appeals Court marks 30 years of spreading the ‘patent gospel.'” Timothy B. Lee has this blog post at “Ars Technica.”

“President Barack Obama has heavily influenced federal courts in Bay Area”: Howard Mintz has this Ninth Circuit-related article today in The San Jose Mercury News.

“Floating home or vessel? South Florida man’s case going before U.S. Supreme Court; U.S. Supreme Court will hear a S. Fla. case whose outcome will have wide implications for those who live and work on the water.” The Miami Herald has this report.

“Court Weighs Same-Sex to Race-Related Laws Following Obamacare”: Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News has this report.

“Will court open with bad blood? Last term ended with contentious health care ruling; But justices won’t let animosity, as with Congress, infect them,” Tony Mauro has this op-ed today in USA Today.

“Lord Neuberger to be sworn in as new Supreme Court President”: The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom issued this news release today.

“Another Big Supreme Court Term On The Docket”: Yesterday’s broadcast of NPR’s “Weekend Edition Sunday” contained this audio segment featuring Nina Totenberg.

And the start of the U.S. Supreme Court‘s October Term 2012 marks the tenth anniversary of “SCOTUSblog.”

“Election’s winner may shape Supreme Court; Vacancies likely within next 4 years”: This article appears today in The Boston Globe.

And Bill Mears of CNN.com has items headlined “Supreme Court possibilities if Obama is reelected” and “Supreme Court possibilities if Romney wins election.”