“Low blows”: Speaking of Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, Senior U.S. District Judge Richard G. Kopf has this interesting post today at his blog, “Hercules and the Umpire.”

“Shadow of Roe v. Wade Looms Over Ruling on Gay Marriage”: Adam Liptak has this article today in The New York Times.

Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has an article headlined “AP interview: Lesbian couple in gay marriage case.”

Lila Shapiro of The Huffington Post has an article headlined “Before The Supreme Court Considers Gay Marriage, An American Change Of Heart.”

At “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston has a post titled “Argument preview: Marriage and the Court’s ‘friends’ — Part I.”

And in today’s edition of The Sacramento Bee, law professor Lawrence C. Levine has an essay titled “The man who may decide the future of gay rights” that begins, “All eyes will be on Sacramento’s own Justice Anthony M. Kennedy this week when the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral argument in two important cases dealing with issues of fairness and equality under the law.”

“‘Out of Order’: sketchy collection of stories about the Supreme Court; ‘Out of Order: Stories from the History of the Supreme Court’ by retired court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor is a slim, plodding collection of stories about the court.” Curt Schleier has this book review today in The Seattle Times.

“Supreme Court to hear case with implications for drug prices”: This article appears today in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

“Under the U.S. Supreme Court: Voter ID — fraud prevention or voter suppression?” Michael Kirkland of UPI has this report.

“Gay marriage: The long road to Supreme Court.” Howard Mintz will have this article Sunday in The San Jose Mercury News.

Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has an article headlined “Wide range of potential outcomes on gay marriage.”

Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has a blog post titled “Ex-judge predicts ‘spectacular’ argument against Prop. 8.”

Today’s broadcast of NPR’s “Weekend Edition Saturday” contained an audio segment titled “They All Voted For DOMA, But Now These Senators Are Split.”

Sunday’s edition of The New York Times will contain an editorial titled “Heightened Scrutiny.” And columnist Frank Bruni will have an op-ed titled “Marriage and the Supremes.”

And in Sunday’s edition of The Los Angeles Times, law professor Michael Klarman will have an op-ed titled “A gay marriage backlash? Not likely; A broad Supreme Court ruling for same-sex marriage would fade, not fester, for four reasons.”

“What’s Standing in the Way of Gay Marriage?” Online at The New Yorker, Richard Socarides has this blog post today.

“Obama court pick withdraws, thwarted by Republicans in Senate”: David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has this report. In addition, Michael McGough has an essay titled “A filibustered judicial nominee withdraws.”

Richard Wolf of USA Today reports that “Obama judicial nominee, opposed by GOP, withdraws.”

The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch reports today that “Obama agrees to withdraw judicial nomination.”

Bill Mears of CNN.com reports that “Obama nominee for federal appeals court withdraws.”

And Reuters reports that “Obama withdraws judicial nominee blocked twice by Republicans.”

My round-up of coverage from yesterday afternoon can be accessed here.

“A Casket Cartel and the Louisiana Way of Death: Benedictine monks decided to sell the simple wooden caskets they’d always made; Then things got complicated.” Chip Mellor and Jeff Rowes have this op-ed today in The Wall Street Journal. You can freely access the full text of the op-ed via Google News.

“Could Judge Casper’s 2012 recusal pose problem in Bulger case?” David Frank, managing editor of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, has this report.

“Scalia criticizes modern legal education in Seacoast speech”: This article appears today in The Portsmouth (N.H.) Herald.

“Don’t Forget the Two Republican Judges Who Helped Save Same-Sex Marriage; One struck down California’s Proposition 8; the other challenged the Defense of Marriage Act; The road to next week’s landmark Supreme Court arguments began with these two rulings in 2010”: Andrew Cohen has this essay online today at The Atlantic.

“DOMA Drama: What to watch for at the gay marriage arguments before the Supreme Court.” Emily Bazelon has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

And Ryan J. Reilly and Will Wrigley of The Huffington Post report that “Supreme Court Gay Marriage Line Forms Even Earlier Than Obamacare Queue.”

“Al Franken Sends Eric Holder Letter Over ‘Remarkably Aggressive’ Aaron Swartz Prosecution”: Zach Carter of The Huffington Post has this report.

“Issues Remain for Same-Sex Couples, Whatever the Justices Rule”: Tara Siegel Bernard will have this new installment of her “Your Money” column in Saturday’s edition of The New York Times.

“Senior status for Circuit Judge Michael Boudin”: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit today issued a news release that begins, “Chief Judge Lynch of the First Circuit Court of Appeals announced today that the Honorable Michael Boudin intends to assume senior status on June 1, 2013.”

On Wednesday of last week, I had a post titled “Enquiring about the status of First Circuit Judge Michael Boudin.”

“Death row inmates challenge use of death penalty drug”: Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers has this article previewing a case scheduled for oral argument Monday at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

“Obama Recess Picks Meet Skepticism From Appeals Judges”: Tom Schoenberg of Bloomberg News has a report that begins, “President Barack Obama’s appointment of labor board members last year while most senators were out of town met skepticism from appeals court judges weighing whether he overstepped his constitutional powers.”

Update: You can access the oral argument audio file for this case from the web site of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit via this link (53.0 MB mp3 audio file).

“Obama withdraws appeals court pick”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, ” President Barack Obama is withdrawing his nominee to a federal appeals court after Republicans twice blocked her confirmation.”

And Politico.com reports that “White House withdraws Halligan nomination.”

“The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times” has posted a PDF copy of the nominee’s withdrawal letter at this link. And The White House has issued a “Statement by the President on the Withdrawal of the Nomination of Caitlin Halligan.”

Update: In other coverage, The Washington Post has a blog entry titled “White House withdraws Caitlin Halligan nomination.”

The New York Times has a blog post titled “Obama Withdraws Judicial Nomination After Second G.O.P. Filibuster.”

The Washington Times has a blog post titled “Obama gives up on U.S. appeals court pick.”

Bloomberg News reports that “Obama Pulls Court Nomination Blocked by Republicans.”

The Hill has a blog post titled “White House withdraws court nominee who was blocked twice by GOP.”

At “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times,” Todd Ruger has a post titled “After a Two-Year Fight, White House Withdraws Halligan for D.C. Circuit.”

Tom Curry, national affairs writer for NBC News, has a blog post titled “NRA scores victory as Obama appeals court nominee withdraws.”

And suggesting that the U.S. Senate’s filibuster may have been Xenia-phobic, The Columbus Dispatch has a blog post titled “White House withdraws judicial nominee born in Xenia.”

“Professors Scott Hemphill, Bhaven Sampat on Reverse Payment Settlement”: Columbia Law School has posted online this news release about an article headlined “Drug Patents at the Supreme Court” (also available in PDF format) that law professor C. Scott Hemphill and professor Bhaven N. Sampat have in the March 22, 2013 issue of Science magazine.

“Fighting Same-Sex Marriage With Zeal and Strategy”: This article will appear Saturday in The New York Times.

“ND lawmakers define life as starting at conception”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “North Dakota lawmakers moved Friday to outlaw abortion in the state by passing a bill defining life as starting at conception.”

“Supreme Court’s Sidekick Kid Justice Killed By Mad Genius Dr. Contempto”: The Onion has this report.

“Line formed for marriage arguments”: At “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston has a post that begins, “Spectators seeking to get into the Supreme Court chamber for next week’s oral arguments on the same-sex marriage cases began lining up on Thursday at about 9 p.m. — more than four days before the first argument, Tuesday at 10 a.m.”

And on a related note, Yale Law School has issued a news release titled “Yale Law School Professors, Alumni Submit Amicus Briefs in Hollingsworth v. Perry.”

“Senate Judiciary Committee approves nomination of Jane Kelly as next 8th Circuit appeals judge”: The Gazette of Cedar Rapids, Iowa has this news update.

“The Stealthy Solicitor General”: Lincoln Caplan has this post today at the “Taking Note” blog of The New York Times.

“Gay Marriage and the Libertarian’s Dilemma: The Supreme Court will consider two same-sex marriage cases that pit original intent against individual liberty.” Law professor Richard A. Epstein has this essay online today at the Defining Ideas site of the Hoover Institution.

“Milbank Tweed Forum, moderated by Samuel Estreicher, features Supreme Court correspondents for Wall Street Journal and New York Times sharing behind-the-scenes scoop”: New York University School of Law has posted the video online at YouTube at this link.

“Cytori Loses Bid to Overturn FDA Bar on Stem-Cell Devices”: Bloomberg News has this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued today.

The Associated Press reports that “Judges side with FDA in rejecting stem cell device.”

And David Ingram of Reuters reports that “Medical device maker Cytori loses approval fight.”

“When Bork saved justice: ‘Saturday Night Massacre’ preserved the Constitution.” Former U.S. Senator Fred D. Thompson has this op-ed today in The Washington Times discussing Robert H. Bork‘s posthumously published book, “Saving Justice: Watergate, the Saturday Night Massacre, and Other Adventures of a Solicitor General.”

“The Supreme Court’s Theory of Private Law”: Law professors Nathan B. Oman and Jason M. Solomon have posted this article online at SSRN (via “Legal Theory Blog“).

“Supreme Court Recusal: From Marbury to the Modern Day.” Law professor James J. Sample has posted this article online at SSRN (via “Election Law Blog“).

“The Sexual Fetish of Gay Marriage Opponents: Defenders of DOMA and Proposition 8 say marriage isn’t about love or parenting; It’s about coitus.” Mark Joseph Stern has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

“Mentor, Protege Square Off on Gay Marriage; Theodore Olson Helped Paul Clement Ascend Conservative Ranks; Next Week, They Argue Opposite Sides of Landmark Issue”: Jess Bravin has this article today in The Wall Street Journal.

“Preview: Supreme Court to decide on deals to delay cheaper drugs.” Reuters has this report.